National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the children who never returned home and the survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. It is a day to ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process. We want to express gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside Indigenous partners and on Indigenous lands. In environmental conservation work, we recognize how vital it is to learn from Indigenous voices.

In recognizing where we are and where we need to go, the following is a list of resources to support self-care, learning and settler actions toward reconciliation.

Supports / Resources

• 24-hour crisis line for Indian Residential School Survivors and Family, 1-800-721-0066
• Access services and counselling from IRSSS (Indian Residential School Survivors Society)
• Crisis Centre BC: 24-hour crisis line 1-800-784-2433
• Canada Suicide Prevention Service 24 Hour Crisis Line: 1-833-456-4566, text 45645 (4pm – 12am est)
• Hope and wellness helpline: 1-855-242-3310 

Settler Actions

• Find out whose territory you live on at native-land.ca
• Read/learn the 94 calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
• Read the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• If you’re able to, donate to an Indigenous-led organization
  • IRSSS
  • Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
  • Wikwemikong First Nation (water protectors)
• Educate yourself on colonization and its ongoing impact
• Attend a TRC day event in your community
• Wear orange on September 30 to show your support
• Take a look through this website, ON Canada Project, which has resources for non-Indigenous allies
• Take this free course through the University of Alberta: Indigenous Canada

Watch

CBC Gem – Truth & Reconciliation Collection – Link to the full CBC collection 

We Were Children – Documentary  
Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up – Documentary  
The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open – Drama  
Edge of the Knife (SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna) – Drama  
Searchers (ᒪᓕᒡᓗᑎᑦ) – Drama  
Rhymes for Young Ghouls – Drama  
Angry Inuk – Documentary  
One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk – Drama  
Rustic Oracle – Drama  
Kayak to Klemtu – Drama  
Empire of Dirt – Drama  
The Grizzlies – Sports Drama  
Bones of Crows – Drama, premiere September 29 @ VIFF 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B0S8ZEMJX8&list=PLn73sxMg02kMnd7tWjqtFO-5A1fvkbNr6&index=8 – “The origins of biodiversity conservation show that decolonization is necessary” IOF 2021 Seminar  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseIGs3ozyw&list=PLn73sxMg02kMnd7tWjqtFO-5A1fvkbNr6&index=3 – “New Insights Into Pre-Contact Coast Salish Salmon Fisheries and Implications for Modern Stewardship” IOF 2021 seminar  

Listen

Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s – Podcast 
Kuper Island – Podcast 
Telling our Twisted Histories – Podcast 
Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership – Community Connections audio series 
Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo – Podcast 
All my relations-podcast 
Unsettled: Journeys in Truth and Conciliation – Podcast 
Hoksheda – podcast 
Red Man Laughing – Podcast 

Residential Schools on Apple Podcasts  – PodcastDennis Saddleman performs Monster | CBC.ca – spoken word

Read

Expanding the Truth Before Reconciliation – Lesson Series 
Landing Back – Policy Paper Settlers Take Action – Resource Guide
The Inconvenient Indian – Thomas King
Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance – Jesse Wente
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City – Tanya Talaga
They Called Me Number One – Bev Sellars
Five Little Indians – Michelle Good
In This Together: Fifteen Stories of Truth and Reconciliation – Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail (editor)
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality – Bob Joseph
Indigenous Relations: Insights, tips and suggestions to make reconciliation a reality – Bob Joseph
Price Paid: The Fight for First Nations Survival – Bev Sellars
Dancing On Our Turtle’s Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence – Leanne Simpson
Indian Horse – Richard Wagamese
The Right to Be Cold – Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Birdie – Tracey Lindberg
Unsettling the settler within – Paulette Regan
Unsettling Canada- Arthurt Manuel and Ronald Derrickson
UNeducation – Graphic Novel, Jason Eaglespeaker
Islands of Decolonial Love – Leanne Simpson