Wearing the shirts on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a way to remember the generations of children marked by residential schools. But it’s not enough.
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Kids across the country are wearing orange shirts to class Monday, to remember the generations of Indigenous children who were torn from their families, communities and cultures, forced to attend residential schools and, in many cases, horribly abused or killed.
Monday is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, when Canadians confront a dark stain on our history. Residential schools were a cultural genocide that lasted more than a century and the effects continue to reverberate. Most Indigenous people alive today are either survivors, the children of survivors, the grandchildren of survivors or all of the above. But we’ve only become more aware of this painful legacy in the past decade, since a national roving commission gathered heartbreaking testimonials and called us all to action.
Besides reflecting on this tragedy, Monday is also an opportunity to learn about Indigenous culture and customs. Countless events are taking place in school gyms and on college campuses. Some already have. On Thursday, Plains Cree singer-songwriter Aurora Finkle performed at John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire. On Friday, Concordia University hosted a screening of the film Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair, about the chair of Canada’s earth-shifting commission on residential schools, and a discussion featuring director Alanis Obomsawin.
So as we wear orange Monday to reflect on past transgressions against Indigenous people, we must also confront the unfinished business of reconciliation.