National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2024
September 16, 2024 | 5 min read
What is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
2024 marks the fourth year of the official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day falls on September 30th, which coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an effort that began in 2013. Orange Shirt Day was created by former residential school survivors with the purpose of bringing survivors together, commemorating their experiences, and keeping the reconciliation process alive as they seek healing for all those impacted by residential schools.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is to raise awareness on those who have lost their lives because of residential schools, those who have never returned home, and those who are still impacted today. It is a time to listen to survivors and victims, learn, and educate ourselves.
Learning Resources
OrangeShirtDay.org provides an overview on the significance of September 30th, resources for education, and relevant articles.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation provides educational programming, resources, historical records, and more.
The Downie-Wenjack fund provides access to education on the lasting history of the residential school system by way of programming and events.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
Review the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission yourself through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation's website.
The Library and the community’s role
As a library that resides in the home of the First Peoples of the Williams Treaties First Nations and other Indigenous peoples, we thank them for sharing this land.
Did you know that in action 69 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action, libraries are called upon as a partner for educating the public on residential schools? We acknowledge our role in the Call to Action and thus invite and encourage our community to learn with us about Indigenous history, past and present, and its impacts on Indigenous individuals in Canada. While we encourage learning on the topic of residential schools, we also encourage you to learn about and celebrate Indigenous culture. We have many enlightening reads on these topics available in our library that have been written by Indigenous authors.
EGPL will have National Day for Truth and Reconciliation displays available at both of our library branches for you to browse a variety of our books in person. We also have several booklists to get your reading started, but we invite you to go beyond our library and delve deeper into the many wonderful books that are out there.
Free Online Courses
University of Alberta offers a free 12 week online course exploring the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples.
Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education
This course offered through University of BC will help you enhance your understanding of practices that advance reconciliation where you learn, live, and work.
Videos
Summa is a streaming service with exclusively Canadian and Indigenous content including TV shows, movies, and documentaries.
A collection of Indigenous documentaries. Look under “Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis)” and “Indigenous Peoples in Canada (Inuit)”.
East Gwillimbury Public Library booklists:
By: Ben Van Gorp