On Thursday, September 30, UPEI will mark the first official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, recently designated by the Government of Canada as a federal statutory holiday. This is a day for all Canadians to remember the tragic history and legacy of residential schools in our country and the intergenerational impacts they have had on First Nations and Indigenous Peoples.
The University, including the Library, will be closed for regular operations and there will be no classes on Thursday, September 30, 2021, in observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
September 30 is also Orange Shirt Day.
Background from orangeshirtday.org
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’s account of losing her shiny new orange shirt on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because children are back in school and teachers have time to plan, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the year. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and community agencies to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.
Resources are available from the http://www.orangeshirtday.org site and the Library subscribes to a number of resources that you can integrate into your curriculum.
Relevant links to educate and promote awareness:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation