News
September 30, 2021
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Canada’s federal government has provided an opportunity on September 30 for all federal employees and employees of federally regulated companies to learn about and reflect on the legacy of residential schools. This is named the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. While this is not a statutory holiday for us, nor for the majority of our Canadian clients, we at Lord in Canada choose to honour this day to deepen our understanding of the colonial legacy of residential schools, honour Indigenous survivors, and explore our role in the ongoing reconciliation process.
“It is consistent with our vision ‘to make the world a better place through culture’ that we all strive to understand the past and how to be allies with indigenous people in the future…” said Gail Lord.
Here at Lord, our commitment to reconciliation has been growing in our practice and has been acknowledged by Indigenous communities – in completed and ongoing projects such as the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Canada’s first residential school at the Woodland Cultural Centre, our leadership in the BIPOC Fellowship and ongoing projects such as the Metis Culture and Language Institute in British Columbia.
We invite you to join us in this day of reflection. Please see below some helpful resources.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports
Origins and History of Orange Shirt Day
Indigenous Canada: A free online course from the University of Alberta
You might begin with reading and thinking about our Land Acknowledgement statements and those of the city or area in which you reside (almost every city and university has established a statement).
There are many children’s books available that deconstruct our colonial history and present stories from a child-centric perspective – perhaps borrow one from the library or purchase one, and spend some time reading it with your children (you can find some here: https://www.gvpl.ca/2021/09/learn-truth-reconciliation-children/)
Take a walk around your neighbourhood – the evidence of historical and contemporary Indigenous presence is everywhere, you just have to look for it! Some examples for Toronto are here:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/first-story-toronto-indigenous-history-1.4170290; https://www.destinationtoronto.com/things-to-do/arts-culture-and-entertainment/indigenous-experiences/; https://www.heritagetoronto.org/explore-learn/indigenous-history-toronto-tour/