My name is Teresa Edwards, Young Fire Woman, Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel of the Legacy of Hope Foundation. Today, we all stand together to observe and honour Orange Shirt Day, also now recognized as a statutory holiday under the name of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The concept of Orange Shirt Day comes from Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose own story of having her new and beloved orange shirt ripped away from her on her first day of Residential School has inspired people from across Canada to wear orange shirts today to honour her story and the many others who attended these schools.

Orange Shirt Day was created as a way for all Canadians to acknowledge the continuing devastation and heartbreak caused by the Residential School System, which robbed 150,000 children – 7 generations of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children from their families and forced them into inadequate and abusive Church-run schools whose intent was to destroy all that was Indigenous. In these schools, the children were often treated horribly and made to feel ashamed for being themselves. Many even died at the hands of priests, nuns, administrators and teachers. The unearthing of these children and the exposed mistreatment continues to be confirmed all across Canada surrounding many of these schools.

On this day, we must take the time to remember the children that never made it back home, their families, along with the Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors of Residential Schools who continue to feel the impacts from their time there.

When we think about Truth and Reconciliation – it is an important day. It is a day meant for all Canadians to reflect upon and inform themselves about Indigenous history and Canada’s history of Residential Schools, their impacts, and the implications these schools and the associated policies and laws which went on to build the entire nation of Canada.

If we are to truly understand our country, we must seek to understand all of its history, including the parts, like Residential Schools, that are tragic and shameful. Informing ourselves about what the Government, Teachers, Administrators, nuns and priests did to Indigenous children at Residential Schools also means trying to understand the perspectives of Survivors, Intergenerational Survivors, and their communities. Empathy is a key step towards building better relationships and ensuring that the voices of Indigenous Canadians are not only heard, but believed. Teaching Canadians about the rich contributions Indigenous Peoples have made and continue make to the place we now call Canada, can only help to build better relationships based on mutual respect, understanding and equality.

On this National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, take the time to commit to an act of Reconciliation, however minor or major that might be. Whether you are taking a moment to listen to the stories of Residential School Survivors, donating to an Indigenous charity, or even just wearing something orange, ensure that your act of Reconciliation is meaningful to you and that you do something today and hopefully continue to take steps to be an ally.

While Orange Shirt Day is still an important day to contemplate the impacts of Residential Schools and other colonial policies of oppression, and to help ensure that Survivors, their families and their communities feel seen and heard, it is important to remember that ultimately, Orange Shirt Day is just one day. Residential Schools were not built in a day. Neither were the policies that established them. The hurt of Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors won’t be healed in a day. Nor will one day be enough to undo all of the inequities that Indigenous Peoples are currently subjected to within Canada. Therefore, meaningful Reconciliation will take meaningful action and much more than one day.

Today, and every day after, all Canadians need to remember that true Reconciliation cannot rest on the shoulders of the actions of a single day, or rest on the shoulders of the efforts of Indigenous Peoples. True Reconciliation means that every Canadian, on every single day, needs to devote themselves to building positive relationships with Indigenous Peoples, and creating a Canada that serves the interests of all of its citizens.

That is the meaning of Truth and Reconciliation. Remembrance, Honouring, Healing and taking Action toward Reconciliation for today, and for every tomorrow after that.

The LHF is celebrated their 21-year anniversary as a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School System, Sixties Scoop, and other colonial acts of oppression on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Peoples. The LHF has 25 exhibitions that are available for loan for free and we are working on making some exhibitions available online.

LHF has curriculum from K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops and Training, and Podcasts aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the links to issues such as the high rates of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, etc. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism