National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30 marks the second observance of National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.??The day honours the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as survivors, their families and communities.??

The discovery of nearly 1000 unmarked graves shocked Canadians and reverberated around the world.??Despite those graphic images,?I confess I had only a peripheral knowledge of the origins of Truth and Reconciliation Day. This year I vowed to rectify that.??

My first misconception was that I thought residential schools had been disbanded much earlier than they were.??There were 140 such schools that operated between 1831 and 1998 - only disbanded 25 years ago!

I also took the time to read the final report from the 2015 truth and reconciliation commission.??This report proposed 94 calls to action to redress the legacy of residentials schools and advance reconciliation.??Truth and Reconciliation Day is a direct result of that act but the calls to actions also address Child Welfare, Education, Language and Culture, Health, legal system equity, training for public servants, acknowledging indigenous sports and business, and others.

Why the Orange Shirt???Phyllis Webstad started a grassroots movement to commemorate her own residential school experience at just 6 years old.??The Orange Shirt symbolizes the orange shirt that she wore to her first day of school that was stripped away from her like so much of her culture.??Phyllis’ efforts have resulted in a whole new generation being educated on the traumatic history the indigenous populations have experienced/lived.?

Lastly, the symbolism for this cover graphic shared by the Government of Canada resonated with me.?

• the narwhal represents the Inuit,?
• the eagle represents the First Nations,?
• the beaded flower represents the Métis,?
• the circle represents being together in the spirit of reconciliation,
• the stars represent the children who never made it home,
• the orange smoke represents indigenous traditions, spirituality, inclusion and diversity,
• and finally, the pathway represents the Road to Reconciliation.

Reconciliation should not be a single day a year but hopefully the day inspires everyone to learn a bit more of our history.??As George Santayana said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.??Kyndryl Canada encourages all of our employees to take time to learn more about our culture.?

#NDTR?#Kyndryl