National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

Rachel Vickerson
posted by | 32sc
September 29, 2022

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. As a community, this is a time for us to learn, unlearn, and critically examine our own practice as we work towards meaningful action on Truth and Reconciliation. The AECEO team understands that discussing colonization and its ongoing harms can be uncomfortable and even scary, especially when talking to young children. It is critical that we listen to the experiences of Survivors and (un)learn the histories of our country and education system in order to disrupt the consequences of ongoing colonialism and systemic injustice in our own pedagogical work. 

As educators, we believe that it is our duty to have these uncomfortable conversations with each other, our families and our communities. We hope that talking more openly about “scary”  topics will lead to our feeling comfortable in the discomfort in order to be a catalyst for positive change.                                                                                                                                                         
To support you in that process, we are sharing a list of resources our team is using to help you on your own decolonizing journey on Orange Shirt Day and beyond. We also encourage you to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and reflect on the ways you can take action in your pedagogical practice and in your community.

Please be advised that the links below touch on topics such as child abuse, family separation, intergenerational trauma and genocide.

Videos: 

Interactive Resources: 

  • Canada's Residential Schools (Google Earth)  
  • The Witness Blanket
  • This 10 month calendar - following the school year - was created by Kelli Edson Wiebe and Angela Fey to support educators. It highlights Indigenous celebrations and commemorations, and shares the 6 seasons of the Cree & the Anishinaabe moons, free to download and integrate into your program (shared with permission) 

Readings: 

Podcasts:

 Book Recommendations for Adults: 

  • Seven Fallen Feathers - Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City, by Tanya Talaga
  • Indigenous Writes - A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada, by Chelsea Vowel
  • This Place - 150 Years Retold (graphic novel), by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, et al. Also available in podcast format 

 Book Recommendations for Children: 

  • Phyllis’s Orange Shirt, by Phyllis Webstad 
  • When We Were Alone, by David A. Robertson & Julie Flett
  • Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi's Canoe, both by Nicola I. Campbell & Kim La Fave
  • Kookum's Red Shoes, by Peter Eyvindson 
  • Arctic Stories, by Michael Kusugak
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