Area schools mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

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As Canada marks its fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, London’s schools plan to honour survivors and children who never returned from the nation’s Indigenous residential schools.

Both Monday’s federal holiday and Orange Shirt Day are Sept. 30. Canadians are encouraged to wear orange in remembrance of the children who survived and those who died in the dozens of residential schools operated by churches and the federal government across the country.

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More than 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Metis children were forced to attend the schools, including two in Southwestern Ontario.

The Mount Elgin Industrial School in Muncey, southwest of London, was among Canada’s first and longest-running residential schools. It was open from 1851 to 1946 and was used as a day school after 1967. It was operated, at various times, by the Wesleyan Methodist Society, the United Church and the Department of Indian Affairs.

The Mohawk Institute Residential School near Brantford, a former church-run, government-funded residential school, operated for 139 years before closing in 1970. About 97 children died on its grounds, according to documents reviewed by a research group called the Survivors’ Secretariat in 2022.

Apart from being taken from homes and families, children were cut off from their culture and language while facing physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The National Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined the grim legacy. Its final report, in 2015, made dozens of recommendations, including creating a special day to honour survivors and their families.

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Here’s what London’s schools and school boards are doing to observe the date:

The university has designated Sept. 30 as a “non-instructional day,” meaning no regularly scheduled classes will be held to allow students and employees to attend events led by groups across campus. Events at the university to mark the date began on Sept. 27.

“As a campus community, each of us are individually called to increase our knowledge of the history of colonization in Canada and to engage in capacity building and culture change, not just on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, but every day,” said Christy Bressette, vice-provost and associate vice-president of Indigenous initiatives.

Sunrise ceremony: It’ll take place at 7 a.m. at the wampum learning lodge at Althouse College, and medicines will be provided to make offerings. The ceremony will be followed by a “morning for visiting and reflection” at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. The event will be run by elder-in-residence Betsy Kechego and fire keeper Mike Hopkins, and closed with a soft launch of the Indigenous allyship principles.

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An afternoon of allyship: From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the social science centre. Archaeologists will speak on supporting Indigenous-led searches at former Indian residential schools, and their work with the Canadian Archaeological Association working group on unmarked graves that received a 2024 Governor General’s innovation award.

Allyship is a journey, not a destination: A talk with geographer Katrina Moser from 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the social science centre. It’s linked to Western’s course connecting for climate change action that uses storytelling to bring the university and Indigenous sciences together to educate, encourage discussions, and motivate action on climate change.

Silent no more: A virtual tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School: The film’s screening will show the former Mohawk Institute residential school (Mush Hole), the longest-operating residential school in Canada. The screening will be followed by a conversation between filmmaker and professor Sally Kewayosh and her collaborators. It takes place from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the D.B. Weldon Library.

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FANSHAWE COLLEGE

A full day of events will take place at the college, including educational programs and fundraisers. The Every Child Matters flag and all flags will be lowered to half-mast.

Every Child Matters orange T-shirts are available in the school’s Falcon Shop, with 50 per cent of proceeds being donated directly to the Mohawk Institute in Brantford.

Informational materials and display boards are on display in the Kalihwíy̲o̲, a space for Indigenous students and the community, located in the library.

A day to listen: From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fanshawe’s student-run radio station, 106.9 The X, will join 500 Canadian radio stations to host A Day to Listen in support of the Downie Wenjack Fund. Chanie Wenjack was an Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 after trying to flee a residential school in Kenora.

Honouring and building communities: The institute of Indigenous learning, in partnership with the Fanshawe student union (FSU), is hosting an event honouring Indigenous resiliency from 5 to 8 p.m. in Forwell Hall at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd.

THAMES VALLEY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

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Grades seven and eight students from selected elementary schools will participate in an event at the Western Fair District Agriplex from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that will include a performance by William Prince, an Indigenous folk and country singer-songwriter.

The event is a collaboration between Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the school board and Western University’s wampum learning lodge.

LONDON DISTRICT CATHOLIC SCHOOL BOARD

The event calendar on the board’s website doesn’t show any events scheduled for Sept. 30. According to its Indigenous education programs, students are asked to wear orange T-shirts to commemorate orange shirt day. Teachers are “provided with a range of further, age-appropriate activities to do with their students to honour this important Canadian day,” says the website.

The board couldn’t be reached to provide more details.

– With files from The London Free Press and the Brantford Expositor

bbaleeiro@postmedia.com

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