New holiday a call to action

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/09/2021 (1485 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is not very often that a new holiday is marked on the calendar, but that’s exactly what we’re doing on Sept. 30.

For the first time ever, Canada will be marking a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is a unique type of holiday. Unlike dates such as Canada Day or long weekends, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is not intended to be a celebration. Nor, on the other hand, will it be strictly a sombre memorial, like Remembrance Day. Instead, Sept. 30 is a call to action.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is intended to be a day that commemorates the history of residential schools, acknowledges the loss and trauma that continues to be felt, and provides an opportunity to express and honour grief as we continue the important work of reconciliation.

Over this past year, so many terrible residential school traumas have been rediscovered, including here in Brandon. Orange shirts, orange posters and orange ribbons remind us that Every Child Matters. We are also reminded that these residential school horrors were not so long ago. The pain is fresh.

That is one of the important truths in truth and reconciliation. Those truths should be absorbed slowly, by all of us. We are all called upon to reflect and to learn. And for those of us who are of settler ancestry, we must also acknowledge the systems that continue to benefit us unequally, and that make us complicit.

But the day is also a day for reconciliation, which is ongoing labour for a better future. Alongside the pain and grief that has been expressed on previous Orange Shirt Days, and at every new residential school discovery this past year, I have also been profoundly touched by the displays of strength and grace from survivors. I am reminded that I should approach reconciliation with humility, and offer to lend my labour under the guidance of others.

So on Sept. 30, we will be called to both honour truth, and to work for reconciliation. Those are important challenges laid in front of us, and mark this as not just a new holiday, but as a new type of holiday.

We do not have a good template for how to mark this type of holiday. That makes inaugurating it this year a tremendous responsibility. The ways we come together this first time will influence next year and could set in motion traditions that will become cherished over the decades and generations to come.

Brandon University is taking that responsibility seriously, as we lend our labour to help plan and put on a week of activities that will help our community gather, listen, and learn on Sept. 30 and throughout the week.

We are working closely with local community groups, organizations and members to support activities and gatherings. I know these include carefully curated resources for self-directed learning and reflection, a virtual Teaching House session on residential schools hosted by Knowledge Keepers, and Indigenous-inspired meals available through our food services.

Unfortunately, I have travel scheduled for some of those days, but I’ll be participating from the road. With the ongoing pandemic, of course, some of the events have a convenient digital component that bring us together from anywhere.

And, I plan to delve into a new online teaching tool, the Brandon edition of “Pulling Together” — launched just this week. It is a thoughtful introduction to the Indigenous Peoples in the Prairie region of Canada, which also looks at the history and effects of colonialism and provides ways we can work toward reconciliation.

— Dr. David Docherty is the president of Brandon University