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Coming from a small town with with several first nations communities nearby, I saw first hand, the devastating consequences of racism and segregation. Just seeing a fellow student and friend being invisible because of his ethnicity and background was enough for me understand and change the patterns (traps) I had fallen into at a impressionable age. Even to this day I have much to learn and I have accepted that challenge.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not merely a federal holiday or a pause from routine….. it is a critical confrontation with history that Canada fundamentally requires to heal. For generations, the state-sponsored residential school system systematically separated more than 150,000 Indigenous children from their families, languages, and cultures, inflicting deep-rooted trauma that still to this day affects families and communities. We need this day because true reconciliation cannot exist without first unearthing and accepting the uncomfortable truth. It forces us to pause, acknowledge the systemic harms of the past, and actively listen to the lived experiences of survivors and the intergenerational trauma left behind.
By wearing orange and gathering at these events, we collectively declare that every child matters, directly challenging historical erasure. Furthermore, this day serves as an essential accountability mechanism, reminding all citizens and institutions that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action remain an unfulfilled blueprint. Embracing this process is the only path forward to dismantling ongoing systemic biases, building equitable relationships, and ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated.
Hay-hay.
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