Truth & Reconciliation
truth and reconciliation 2025
Warning: This page refers to residential schools and may be disturbing for some readers. For help, please call the Residential School Survivor Support line at 1-866-925-4419.
Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity to learn about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada and to reflect on the multi-generational and long-lasting harm experienced since the first Residential School which opened in 1828 to the last school which closed in 1997. The enactment of the Indian Act in 1876 resulted in a legislative mechanism for the operation of government and church run residential schools in Canada (Truth and Reconciliation Commission - Research Guides at University of Toronto).
Residential schools were set up to assimilate Indigenous children by eliminating parental, family, community, and long-held relationships with the land. Students experienced neglect, poor or inadequate nutrition, and often suffered from physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse. Children were denied and even punished for speaking their languages, practicing their culture, and participating in traditional ceremonies. As of October 2024, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has documented 4,118 children who died at residential schools (Martens, K. APTN News, October 29, 2024), with countless children unaccounted for. The legacy of these schools has contributed to the intergenerational traumas related to the physical, mental, social, and health problems found in Indigenous communities today. The next part of this journey includes the path to reconciliation.
Land Acknowledgement
Pickering Public Library acknowledges the City of Pickering resides on land within the Treaty and traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Williams Treaties signatories of the Mississauga and Chippewa Nations.
Pickering is also home to many Indigenous persons and communities who represent other diverse, distinct, and autonomous Indigenous nations. This acknowledgement reminds us of our responsibilities to our relationships with the First Peoples of Canada, and to the ancestral lands on which we learn, share, work, and live.
This land acknowledgement was created in 2020 by the City of Pickering’s Cultural Advisory Committee in collaboration with Indigenous community members from across southern Ontario.
September 30th is National Truth and Reconciliation Day
National Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, began with the story of Phyllis Webstad, a Residential School survivor whose orange shirt was taken away on her first day at St. Joseph Mission Residential School. Wearing orange is meant to raise awareness about the intergenerational impacts of residential schools on Indigenous children, families, and communities. Orange Shirt Day reminds us that “Every Child Matters” and to honour the Indigenous children who survived the Residential School system and for all those who died as a result of attending Residential Schools, who never returned home again. On September 30, the Pickering Public Library encourages everyone to wear orange to honour the thousands of Survivors of Residential Schools.
“I had just turned 6 years old. I lived with my grandmother on the Dog Creek reserve. We never had very much money, but somehow my granny managed to buy me a new outfit to go to the Mission school. I remember going to Robinson’s store and picking out a shiny orange shirt. It had string laced up in front, and was so bright and exciting – just like I felt to be going to school!
When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt! I never wore it again. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine! The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.
I was 13 years old and in grade 8 when my son Jeremy was born. Because my grandmother and mother both attended residential school for 10 years each, I never knew what a parent was supposed to be like. With the help of my aunt, Agness Jack, I was able to raise my son and have him know me as his mother.
I went to a treatment centre for healing when I was 27 and have been on this healing journey since then. I finally get it, that the feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my first day at the mission, affected the way I lived my life for many years. Even now, when I know nothing could be further than the truth, I still sometimes feel that I don’t matter. Even with all the work I’ve done! I am honored to be able to tell my story so that others may benefit and understand, and maybe other survivors will feel comfortable enough to share their stories.” - Phyllis Webstad (Orange Shirt Society)
A Journey Forward: Our path to Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the 94 Calls to Action
To redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada issued the 94 Calls to Action on June 2, 2015.
The 94 Calls to Action are an appeal to mobilize all levels of government, organizations, as well as individuals to make concrete changes in society. The Pickering Public Library is currently focusing on the following Calls to Action:
- Legacy
- Education
- Reconciliation:
- Education for Reconciliation, Museums and Archives
For a full list of the 94 Calls to Action, please visit:
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action - NCTR
Resources and Support
Mental health supports available
Former residential school students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada.
Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310; online chat is available (Google Chrome required).
Resources
We Were Children - NFB
Indian Residential School records: Overview - Canada.ca
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - Canada.ca
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action - NCTR
Orange Shirt Society
