As some of our readers know, Authors Publish has been based in Canada for the last seven years, though I am a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.
Every year now on September 30th, Canada honors National Truth and Reconciliation Day, as a federal holiday. The day honors the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities.
For those who do not know, Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, and sent to residential schools, where they were not allowed to speak their native languages, among many other abuses. These schools had the explicit goal of erasing Indigenous cultures. This happened in both Canada and the U.S. The last residential school in Canada was closed in 1996.
September 30th is also known as Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day was created by Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a residential school survivor, and you can learn more about Orange Shirt Day here.
Not all of the provinces have decided to support this decision by the federal government, including the province we are currently based in, Ontario.
This is far from ideal, but reconciliation is not just about the government, but the people who live and work on these territories. People, like me, the editor of Authors Publish, who grew up in Toronto, or Tkaronto, which was this region’s traditional name.
Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties, and is the traditional home and unceded land of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Mississauga and the Wendake-Nionwentsïo. This information was gathered from the very helpful website native-land.ca.
I have a mixed relationship with land acknowledgements, which is to say that I think it is very important to acknowledge whose land we are living and working on, and that this acknowledgement can be a potential source of disruption, but I also feel like it can come off as rote, as something said without intention or meaning, or follow up.
Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer, and the executive director of the Yellowhead Institute, has written about regretting writing a territorial acknowledgement here, in a meaningful and honest way.
But I think it’s important to have these conversations and to actively work towards learning the truth of what happened, and continues to happen in Canada, and across Turtle Island, not just in terms of the residential school system, but in the ongoing harm the government of Canada is causing, as well as the actions and inactions of citizens of this country.
There is also so much to learn about and appreciate in terms of Indigenous culture.
I’m going to add a few resources and recommendations that I personally found helpful. If you have any questions, corrections, recommendations, or feedback of any kind, I am open and listening and can be reached at caitlinelizabethjans@gmail.com.
Many of the links talk directly about genocide and abuse, as well as other hard to read topics.
Resources about Truth and Reconciliation and Residential Schools
5 Things You Need to Know About Truth And Reconciliation
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
How To Talk To Kids About The National Day For Truth And Reconciliation
Talking to Kids about Residential Schools
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls for Action
Beyond 94 (a website that monitors progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action)
The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations by Shirley N. Hager and Mawopiyane
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell (this is the picture book that impacted my children the most).
Places to Contribute
I really encourage to look into local Indigenous led groups to support, but Canada wide the Indian Residential School Survivors Society is a good starting place, as is Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Indspire.
In Toronto the Anishnawbe Health Foundation is doing important work, as is Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction.
Additional Resources
The Power of Story by Harold R. Johnson (I read this for the first time this year and it is incredible)
Northern Light by Kazim Ali
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot
Be a Good Ancestor by Leona Prince, Gabrielle Prince, Illustrated By Carla Joseph
Indigenous Toronto: Stories That Carry This Place edited by Denise Bolduc, Mnawaate Gordon-corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung
The Gift is in the Making: Anishinaabeg Stories by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Rae Belcourt
What is Land Back? A Settler FAQ
An Irritable Métis – Chris La Tray’s Substack newsletter (His Memoir just came out, and is a must read too: Becoming Little Shell.)
