Orange Shirt Day 2024

“How many of these resistances of the Indigenous Peoples did you know about? Not much probably, but it's not your fault.” These were the words of John Croutch, Indigenous Training Coordinator at UofT and status member of Wikwemikong First Nations, that pricked me like thorns. Before this statement, John gave recognition to the different resistances that many Indigenous First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities had to drive forward due to injustices they faced on their land. Such resistance efforts include the Red River resistance, the Oka crisis, Idle No More, and many more. Many, if not all the resistances John discussed, were new to me. Being someone who was born and raised in Canada, I was never really taught or even made aware of the history of Indigenous Canadians (other than Residential schools, but even those discussions were surface-level and brief).  

John took the time to kindly acknowledge the discrimination of many different groups of Canadians over the years (such as Chinese immigrants, Indian immigrants, Muslim populations, and Black populations) and strongly highlighted the lack of awareness and protest surrounding the extreme discrimination and abuse of land that has impacted Indigenous peoples for many years. He also discussed the long and complex history of treaties to which the Canadian government still to this day does not oblige. Statistical evidence of healthcare discrepancies, suicide rates, missing Indigenous women and children, education discrimination, and demonstrate the obvious prejudice against Indigenous Canadians, before and now. Throughout John’s talk, I sat with a heavy, ashamed heart hearing the injustices faced by Indigenous People and the lack of education I had on the topic myself. John however continued to reassure that these revelations may be uncomfortable, but that the first step to change is to learn and advocate more for justice for Indigenous Canadians, and with this step, there is better hope for reconciliation. 

One way that non-Indigenous Canadians can participate in reconciliation is by recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, which falls on September 30^th each year. The purpose of Orange Shirt Day is to reflect on the devastating events that took place at Residential schools and about how we can honour Indigenous peoples and their rich culture today. One way to do so is by reflecting on the following questions:  

• Do I have any personal or indirect relationships with Indigenous people? If yes, what relationships? If not, why not?  

• Am I accepting of Indigenous ways of knowing and do I support decolonization?  

• Do I know the Indigenous territory that I am on? What relationship do I have with the land?  

• In what way am I genuinely supporting truth and reconciliation for Indigenous peoples?