National Day for Truth and Reconciliation September 30, 2021

 September 30, 2021 will be the first annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federally recognized day of acknowledgement for Indian residential school survivors and the children who never returned home to their families.

This day is important for many reasons. Survivors of residential and day schools, and intergenerational survivors of these institutions will all have varied reasons as to why such an acknowledgement and nationally recognized day is valuable and necessary.

The Indigenous Education Department of School District 52 and leaders that were here before this team have made reconciliation a mandate for many years. It is extremely impactful to see such movements being made on a larger scale, as it is important for every individual to find their place in the work of reconciliation.

It is important to note that this is not considered a ‘holiday’ or simply a ‘stat’ but is an essential day of reflection, recognition and learning for allies, as well as a day of mourning for survivors and their families.

Attached is a resource which accompanies the “Take Action for Reconciliation” resources which have been distributed to all schools throughout the district. This resource includes lesson plans for students, but it is also a background learning resource for educators.

Link: https://www.scholastic.ca/truthandreconciliation/TruthandReconciliationDiscussionGuide_EDU.pdf We hope that you will reach out to the Indigenous Education team for additional resources, to

collaborate, and to learn actionable ways that we can contribute to ongoing reconciliation.

Contact Persons:

Andrew Samoil

Superintendent

Board of Education (250) 624-6717

Roberta Edzerza

District Principal, Indigenous Education
Board of Education 250-627-1536