Saturday, September 30th marks the 10th annual Orange Shirt day and the third annual Day of Truth & Reconciliation. On this day of remembrance, we honour all the missing and stolen children who were forced to attend Canada's residential school system.
Last year we came together as staff of NorthernStar to read and discuss the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 94 Calls to Action. This was part of the initial steps we are taking to address racial equity & decolonization at the milk bank. We recognize that the residential school system had devastating effects on Indigenous peoples, and that the effects and ongoing racism are still present today.
Below is the link to the 94 Calls to Action as well as further reading, films, Indigenous authors, and information.
Learn about Residential Schools
Read the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth & Reconciliation Committee:
(10 pages of reading)
Summary & explanation of the history & impact of residential schools in Canada, and the 94 Calls to Action
Indigenous Works National Day for Truth & Reconciliation Taking Action Tip Sheet
(mentioned in the 94 Calls to Action)
Read the 1864 Indian Act Plain Language Summary
Read the Bagot Commission Report
(mentioned in the 94 Calls to Action)
A study on how to exert colonial control and eradicate the Indigenous population. It proposed separating Indigenous children from their families to more successfully assimilate them, and pointed to the Mohawk Institute as a model for future schools
Podcast: Telling our Twisted Histories
Words connect us. Words hurt us. Indigenous histories have been twisted by centuries of colonization. Host Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.
Watch "Where the Spirit Lives"
A 1989 CBC Film about Aboriginal children in Canada being taken from their tribes to attend residential schools for assimilation into majority culture.
In this emotional film, the profound impact of the Canadian government's residential school system is shown through the eyes of two children who were forced to endure unimaginable hardships.
48 books by Indigenous writers to read to understand residential schools
Read Phyllis’ story – the original orange shirt
Inspired by a woven blanket, the Witness Blanket is a large-scale work of art. It contains hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada. Here, you can explore the items and stories carried by the Witness Blanket. They are accompanied by the voices of Survivors who talk about the experience of being forced into residential schools. Their generous and insightful stories convey the reality of anti-Indigenous racism, colonialism and genocide. They reveal the ongoing harms caused by Canada’s residential school system.
Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery – Assembly of First Nations
Read the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Free Course: Watch the recordings of Truth and Reconciliation Week 2023 Public Lunch and Learns. This free course is sold out but you can watch the recordings once they are uploaded to YouTube.
