Saturday marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a solemn occasion dedicated to honoring the children who never returned home, the Survivors of residential schools, their families, and Indigenous communities across Canada. It serves as a reminder of the historical injustices, cultural assimilation, and abuse that plagued the residential school systems, which operated for over a century, with the last one closing in 1996.
During this dark period, countless Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families, enduring cultural assimilation, abuse, and neglect. Dr. Nicole Redvers, a member of Deninu K’ue First Nation and the University of Western Ontario’s Research Chair & Director of Indigenous Planetary Health says this day is very important to both her and her family.
It is so important that we come together and learn the stories of the past and learn the stories of all Indigenous Peoples in Canada. According to Redvers, this day is just one small step in the right direction to healing.
Redvers says the ability to speak up and be heard has never been more important, or felt safer than it does now.
She is grateful that tomorrow, coast to coast will be recognized as a day to listen.
Besides being acknowledged as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, it is also observed as Orange Shirt Day, inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, a survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia. Orange Shirt Day serves as a means to foster awareness about the ordeals faced by residential school survivors and the far-reaching effects on Indigenous communities as a whole.
On Saturday, My Broadcasting Corporation will be running special programming, entitled ‘A Day to Listen’, to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., guest hosts and listeners will speak about Indigenous identity through conversations about representation in sports and entertainment, the fusion of traditional and contemporary music, land protection and the impacts of climate change, and more.
For more information, visit www.strathroytoday.ca.
(photo – Nicole Osbourne)
written by: K. Milhomens
