Dear families,

September 30, 2021 is Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities and promotes understanding of residential school history.

TRUTH
BETWEEN 1879 AND 1996, the Government of Canada took First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children away from their families and homes and put them in residential schools. At residential school, children were not allowed to speak their language or celebrate their culture and were often treated badly by the adults in charge of the schools. Many of the children who went to residential schools became sick and died because the schools were poorly built and didn’t get enough money from the Government of Canada to keep the children healthy. The children who survived residential school returned home with a great sadness and hurt that has been passed on to current generations.

RECONCILIATION

Reconciliation is the process of developing a respectful relationship between Indigenous and settler (i.e. non-Indigenous) people across Canada. It’s about working together to overcome the devastating effects of colonization.

With reconciliation, it’s important to acknowledge harmful policies and practices (e.g. residential schools, loss of lands, inequitable access to essential services, prohibition of cultural traditions and languages, etc.) and define positive ways to move forward together.
Actively learning and engaging about truth and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples is of critical importance to all Canadians. This is especially true for most of us that were not given a comprehensive education about Canada’s treatment of Indigenous Peoples and residential schools. This lack of education has been clearer than ever with the recent confirmation of thousands of unmarked graves at residential schools across Canada.