National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

In 2021, the Government of Canada declared September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to ensure the heartrending, 150-year-long history of Canada’s residential schools is never forgotten. 

Hunger is inextricably linked to the abuses suffered there, both in the past and the present. “Not only did these children not have access to traditional foods, but they were also malnourished,” said Shauna Harris, director of Daily Bread member agency Spadina-Fort York Community Care Program. “There was rampant malnutrition within residential schools.”  

Today, over 40% of Indigenous children ages 1-14 living off-reserve are in food-insecure households (Statistics Canada). The legacy of oppression and discrimination lives on, with far-reaching socioeconomic implications. 

September 30 is a day of reflection. It’s a time to honour the children sent to residential schools and to recognize the ongoing impact of this historic trauma on our country. 

As an organization that values equity and inclusiveness, we are taking time today to learn more about what each one of us can do to be a part of reconciliation. We invite you to do the same. 

Here’s how you can participate today: 

• Wear an orange shirt to champion that every child matters, as September 30 is also Orange Shirt Day. We dress in orange to raise awareness of the experiences of residential school children like Phyllis Webstad, who at 6 years old was so excited to wear a new orange shirt on her first day of school, only to have it stripped from her without explanation. 

• Tune into the live Remember the Children program at 3:00pm today to listen to Indigenous leaders and residential school Survivors and watch performances by First Nations, Inuit and Metis artists. 

• Visit Nathan Phillips Square for today’s Indigenous Legacy Gathering events, like the opening of the new cultural space Spirit Garden or musical performances by Indigenous artists 

Here’s how you can learn more throughout the year: 

• Watch the replay of seminars from last week’s lunch-and-learns hosted by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation 

• Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.  

• Hear firsthand accounts of Sixties Scoop Survivors with these in-depth interviews by the Legacy of Hope Foundation. 

• Watch The Knowing, a documentary about journalist Tanya Talaga’s journey to find a family matriarch whose story is intertwined with the residential school system 

• Book a virtual tour of Brantford’s Mohawk Institute Residential School and hear the stories of five Survivors 

• Read some of Toronto Public Library’s Read Indigenous books, a list of must-read books by Indigenous authors and illustrators for all ages, including recommendations for adults, teens and children. 

And here are readings about food insecurity among Indigenous communities: 

• Food as a Weapon in the Residential School System (article by Food Secure Canada) 

• “We were always hungry”: Severe hunger at residential schools linked to current health issues of Indigenous peoples in Canada (article on a University of Toronto report) 

• Indigenous Food Sovereignty in Ontario: A Study of Exclusion at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (Yellowhead Institute report) 

• Chapter on food insecurity in the TMU pressbook Indigenous Toronto Research Resource: Acknowledging the past and present towards a better future