Canada marks the Second Annual Day For Truth and Reconciliation

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via The Toronto Star

Sept. 30, 2022, marks the second annual day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is recognized as a federal statutory holiday to commemorate and celebrate Indigenous peoples. After being first declared Orange Shirt Day in 2021, it has been renamed to Truth and Reconciliation Day, but continues to hold the same meaning of honouring and remembering Indigenous communities.

The symbolism of the colour orange, which is prominently seen throughout the Truth and Reconciliation movements, stems from Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor who was stripped of her orange shirt upon arrival at an institution. The orange shirt is now a symbol of solidarity and recognition for the cultural genocide Indigenous peoples experienced across generations.

On Sept. 30, the Indigenous Art Collective hosted “Remember Me”, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony at Parliament Hill. A variety of activities were available, including a welcoming ceremony and a round dance with Akwesasne’s Native North American Traveling College. Residential school survivors led a walk to LeBreton Flats Park where attendees placed Indigenous children’s footwear as a symbol of recognition for the children who never made it home from residential schools.

On Sept. 29, students throughout Canada wore orange shirts to school to stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and to show their support for the Truth and Reconciliation movements.

British Columbia did not declare the day as a statutory provincial holiday. The lack of this declaration caused outrage for some of British Columbia’s First Nations. Some felt that the inability to name Truth and Reconciliation Day as a statutory holiday showed a lack of care and does not allow them to have a day to reflect and heal.

“The B.C. government should elevate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation from observance to a statutory holiday as an important commitment to continuing to walk down a path toward reconciliation,” said Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit, a BC Indigenous advocacy group representing over 60 per cent of First Nations in BC, in an interview with Global News.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “reconciliation is not the responsibility of Indigenous Peoples – it is the responsibility of all Canadians. It is our responsibility to continue to listen and to learn.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action number 80 “call[s] upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”