September 28th is Truth and Reconciliation Day here in Canada.
Like most Canadians, I wear orange shirts (or an orange heart) to honor the lost children and the survivors of residential schools.
I created and share out this page to raise awareness on the injustices faced by Indigenous people, because I agree with George Santayana who said…
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”
~George Santayana
so even though my heart aches, I continue to take action. So far I’ve:
- I’ve spent time researching the dark history about residential schools that they left out of my school books
- Read the Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
- Created a land acknowledgement
- Learned how to pronounce the words properly
- Updated this post to make copy/pasting land acknowledgements into chats easier – when appropriate.
Sue Sutcliffe logging in from the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabewaki, the Haudenosaunee and the Mississauga peoples that are governed by the Williams Treaty of 1923 AKA Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
- Reviewed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
- Missing children and burial information — as at April 2024
It’s time to listen, learn, reflect, support, and use our positions and privileges to act.
https://culturedays.ca/en/resources/truth-and-reconciliation
Love how Town of Cobourg is leading right now…
https://www.cobourg.ca/en/standing-in-solidarity-with-indigenous-peoples.aspx#
150 Acts of Reconciliation by Crystal Fraser and Sara Komarnisky
http://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/150acts.pdf
READING MATERIALS
Peter Brice’s “The Story of a National Crime”
2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
Chapter 4th Volume — Canada’s Residential Schools: Missing Children & Unmarked Burials
The stories being told in this video by residential school survivors is heart-wrenching….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbFukqHmbXQ&list=UUNmfjRvjjB9gP3OEtXcHpkw&index=3
Statement by Prime Minister on release of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2015/12/15/statement-prime-minister-release-final-report-truth-and-reconciliation
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation (University of Manitoba)
https://nctr.ca/
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports issued or created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) can be accessed or duplicated at no charge from the NCTR’s website.
https://nctr.ca/records/reports/#trc-reports
Health Supports for Survivors
If you are a Survivor and need emotional support, a national crisis line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week:
Residential School Survivor Support Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional Health Support Information
Emotional, cultural and professional support services are also available to Survivors and their families through the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program. Services can be accessed on an individual, family or group basis.
– Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador: 1-866-414-8111
– Quebec: 1-877-583-2965
– Ontario: 1-888-301-6426
– Manitoba: 1-866-818-3505
– Saskatchewan: 1-866-250-1529
– Alberta: 1-888-495-6588
– British Columbia: 1-877-477-0775
– Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 1-800-464-8106
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL TIMELINE
https://nctr.ca/exhibits/residential-school-timeline/
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVORS — SHARE YOUR STORY
https://nctr.ca/records/preserve-your-records/share-your-stories/
Love what Ontario Tech is doing too…
https://studentlife.ontariotechu.ca/services/community/indigenous/events/orange-shirt-day.php
WHAT ARE BUSINESSES CALLED TO DO?
https://youtu.be/2j6foVn4qZU
Kudos to University of Alberta for taking action!
First Nations, Métis, or Inuit students who apply to the University of Alberta from September 30 – October 6, 2021 will have their application fee waived.
https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions/undergraduate/resources/indigenous-students.html?
With the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation coming this week, we thought it’d be a good idea to remind you about an entire course about Indigenous Canada. What’s more, it’s available online and for free, courtesy of the University of Alberta and Coursera. Here’s what to know.
The Indigenous Canada course offers a ‘historical and critical’ perspective, with a focus on national and local Indigenous-settler relations. So, you’ll be learning about everything from the fur trade to land treaties to contemporary issues and Indigenous culture.
The ‘critical’ side means this course will go far beyond your Grade 4 social studies class and Louis Riel. Over 12 lessons, you’ll get an in-depth look at how the systemic mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as the ongoing erasure of their ways of life, has created intergenerational effects and social issues that will take a lot more than a new holiday to fix. It’s a great start, don’t get us wrong, but it’s still a start.
The course has been taken by almost 400,000 people so far, and has received glowing reviews. Some of our more pop-culture savvy readers might even recognize this course from last year, when Dan Levy sang its praises. Well, he did it for good reason, and if you’d like to find that out for yourself, you can enrol by clicking this link. Happy learning, folks!
https://curiocity.com/this-free-online-university-course-will-teach-you-all-about-indigenous-canada/