Truth and Reconciliation

Orange Shirt Day founders Joan Sorley and Phyllis Webstad took part in a vigil on Canada Day in Williams Lake at Herb Gardner Park. Their work inspired the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Angie Mindus file photo)

‘In awe’: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation huge for Orange Shirt Day founders

Phyllis Webstad and Joan Sorley started the movement leading to national holiday in 2013

Orange Shirt Day founders Joan Sorley and Phyllis Webstad took part in a vigil on Canada Day in Williams Lake at Herb Gardner Park. Their work inspired the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Angie Mindus file photo)
A memorial is displayed on Parliament Hill as ceremonies take place for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Canadians urged to donate one day’s pay to Indigenous groups on Sept. 30

Organization says it’s a way for all Canadians to mark the new holiday

A memorial is displayed on Parliament Hill as ceremonies take place for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel speaks to the Sacred Hearts Catholic Church burning down early Monday morning, June 21, 2021. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

Penticton Indian Band Chief and Council denounce Truth and Reconciliation Day

No substantive actions to date to show a sincere commitment for reconciliation, says Chief Gabriel

Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel speaks to the Sacred Hearts Catholic Church burning down early Monday morning, June 21, 2021. (Monique Tamminga Western News)
Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir speaks during a news conference ahead of a ceremony to honour residential school survivors and mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, in Kamloops, BC., on Thursday, September 30, 2021. The remains of 215 children were discovered buried near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School earlier this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Indigenous leaders call for ‘concrete action’ on first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

215 unmarked graves of missing children were found on the grounds of the Kamloops residential school

Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Kukpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir speaks during a news conference ahead of a ceremony to honour residential school survivors and mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, in Kamloops, BC., on Thursday, September 30, 2021. The remains of 215 children were discovered buried near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School earlier this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor Melven <ins>(Sx̄wen)</ins> Jones recounts the abuse he endured at six years old, as he sits outside his home in Victoria. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

‘It has to be heard’: Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor recounts torture he endured

Melven (Sx̄wen) Jones was forcibly held for two years

Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor Melven <ins>(Sx̄wen)</ins> Jones recounts the abuse he endured at six years old, as he sits outside his home in Victoria. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
The For the Children Caravan, made up of members of the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance’s constituent First Nations, including the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, departed from Penticton on June 30 to head to the site of the Kamloops Residential School where 215 children’s bodies were uncovered. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)

‘Truth and Reconciliation is an action, not a day off’: Lower Similkameen Indian Band Chief

Many left wondering over new statutory Truth and Reconciliation Day, says Chief Keith Crow

The For the Children Caravan, made up of members of the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance’s constituent First Nations, including the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, departed from Penticton on June 30 to head to the site of the Kamloops Residential School where 215 children’s bodies were uncovered. (Brennan Phillips - Western News)
Shoes are placed on the lawn outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to honour 215 children after it was announced that ground-penetrating radar had detected unmarked graves near the facility in Kamloops, B.C., on June 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada marks first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Numerous Indigenous nations reported unmarked graves at former residential school sites

Shoes are placed on the lawn outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School to honour 215 children after it was announced that ground-penetrating radar had detected unmarked graves near the facility in Kamloops, B.C., on June 4, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor Melven <ins>(Sx̄wen)</ins> Jones recounts the abuse he endured at six years old, as he sits outside his home in Victoria. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

‘It has to be heard’: Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor recounts torture he endured

Melven (Sx̄wen) Jones was forcibly held for two years

Nanaimo Indian Hospital survivor Melven <ins>(Sx̄wen)</ins> Jones recounts the abuse he endured at six years old, as he sits outside his home in Victoria. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
A woman places one of 215 pairs of children’s shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery as a memorial to the 215 children whose remains have been found buried at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, May 28, 2021. When the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nation announced the discovery of 215 unmarked graves found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Canadians had to face the horrific realities Indigenous children and youth had to live while being forced to attend residential schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Teaching Canadians to observe solemn new Truth and Reconciliation Day could take time

The holiday grants a paid day off to federally regulated employees and public servants

A woman places one of 215 pairs of children’s shoes on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery as a memorial to the 215 children whose remains have been found buried at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, May 28, 2021. When the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nation announced the discovery of 215 unmarked graves found at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Canadians had to face the horrific realities Indigenous children and youth had to live while being forced to attend residential schools. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck