Back to school can be a time filled with excitement for many, but this also marks the time of year when Indigenous children were taken from their homes and sent to residential schools. Wearing an orange shirt on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day, has become a way to signal support and remembrance of what Indigenous families lost because of residential schools. This day is also an opportunity to both deepen and apply our own foundational knowledge of First Nations, Métis and Inuit culture.
From implementing learning activities in the classroom to continuing your own journey toward reconciliation, there are various ways for teachers and school leaders to recognize this day in their own contexts. Consider the following ways to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and to support the revival and/or maintenance of local Indigenous cultural practices:
1. Communicate with care
- Share information on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with students and families, some of whom may be learning about residential schools for the first time, in advance of Sept. 30.
- Gather and make mental health supports available.
2. Include and honour local Indigenous perspectives
- Create an authentic experience and honour stories and experiences by inviting local Indigenous communities, Elders, Knowledge Keepers and residential school Survivors to your activities. Considerations related to this and information about cultural Protocols are available in the Indigenous Education and Walking Together section of the ATA website.
3. Wear and share
- Wear an orange shirt to mark the day, being mindful of how the shirt was created and how proceeds from its purchase will be used (view the Orange Shirt Society’s website, orangeshirtday.org, for more information).
- Create awareness while moving beyond the performative — not only posting an Orange Shirt Day photo of yourself, but also contemplating and sharing what your reconciliation journey includes.
4. Explore resources
- Resources for your own learning and for the classroom — including sample activities by grade — are available through the ATA’s website, including the ATA library guides. The Orange Shirt Day Society’s website also offers lesson plans and other materials.
5. Continue your learning beyond Sept. 30
- Bring learning activities related to Indigenous education and truth and reconciliation into your school or local.
Activities to consider
- Plant a heart garden to honour residential school Survivors, families and your own call to action.
- Give students an opportunity to explore with local Indigenous people the land-based practices of the local Indigenous culture(s) prior to contact and those that are still being used (i.e., traditional games and/or land-based activities).
- Host the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada Giant Floor Map for the entire school community.
Relevant ATA PD workshops include More Than Words: The Significance of Land Acknowledgements on the Journey of Truth and Reconciliation; Indigenous Matriarchy – Balance Through Truth, Justice and Reconciliation; and The History and Legacy of Residential Schools (Histoire et séquelles du régime de pensionnats). Contact pdworkshops@ata.ab.ca for more information. ❚
