How to mark the Day of Truth and Reconciliation this weekend | City | Halifax, Nova Scotia
FRiday, September 30 is the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. The federal holiday was established last year as a day to honor Indigenous children who never returned home and residential school survivors, and to reflect on the ongoing legacy of cultural genocide perpetrated by the residential school system. In Nova Scotia, Saturday, October 1 is also Treaty Day and the start of Mi’kmaq History Month. Events on the Halifax waterfront hosted by the Mi’kmaw Indigenous Friendship Center this weekend have been postponed due to Hurricane Fiona, but there are still a number of ways you can mark Kjipuktuk Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
Publication of the book We were not wild
On September 30, King’s College University hosts the launch of the fourth edition of Daniel Paul’s We Were Not the Savages, “a near-death story, from a Mi’kmaq perspective, of the First Nations of the Americas The ancient democratic North, caused by the European conquest of America.Speakers include Daniel Paul, Pamela Palmater, and Cathy Martin.
Day of Truth and Reconciliation at the former site of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School
Sipekne’katik First Nation is hosting a day of learning and sharing traditional and cultural knowledge on September 30 at the site of the former Shubenacadie Indian Residential School. There will be a smudging ceremony, drumming, riverside lessons and a community meal. People are invited to place a flag on the field to commemorate residential school survivors.
Wet’suwet’en Solidarity Rally
On September 30 there will be a rally in support of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation – which has for years opposed the construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline through its territory in British Columbia – at the Federal Court of Appeal on Hollis Street.
Mi’kmaq History Month Light
On Friday night, the Old Memorial Library will be illuminated by a Mi’kmaq History Month light display, highlighting this year’s theme, Mi’kmaw beadwork and bead art. There will be speakers and drums. The presentation honors four Mi’kmaq elders and residential school survivors: Elder Rita Joe, the first Mi’kmaw published author; Elder Elise Baske, the first licensed Mi’kmaw public school teacher; Elder Nora Bernard, an initiator of class actions; and Elder Doug Knokwood, a Mi’kmaw veteran.
Learn the Mi’kmaw name for where you live
Using this interactive map you can find the Mi’kmaw name for the land you live on. (Click “view map” in the upper right corner.)
Read the TRC’s calls to action
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued 95 calls to action on how institutions can address the legacy of residential schools.
View NFB’s collection of residential schools
The National Film Board has a selection of films about the impact of the residential school system.
Wear an orange shirt
All Canadians are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on September 30 to mark the day of truth and reconciliation. The tradition is inspired by the story of residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, who was stripped of her new orange shirt on her first day at St. Mary’s, a residential school in Misson, BC in 1973. If you don’t already have an orange shirt, be sure to buy one from an Indigenous artist and/or one where the proceeds will go to an organization that supports Indigenous people. The Mi’kmaq Indigenous Friendship Center has partnered with East Coast Lifestyle this year, and the proceeds from their T-shirts will go to the center.