National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada (the northern part of Turtle Island).
“The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
— Canada.ca, 2025
Canada’s founding as a country involved the displacement of Indigenous Peoples and acts of attempted genocide. For decades—centuries, even—non-Indigenous Canadians were intentionally kept unaware of the atrocities committed.
This day is also a time to learn about our past, acknowledge our present, and reflect on the paths forward.
I grew up in Portage la Prairie, MB (Treaty 1 territory), a community with an Indian Residential School. Back then, all I ever heard adults say was that “bad things happened there.” It wasn’t until many years later that I began learning about Canada’s ongoing oppression of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.
I now live in Treaty 7 territory—Mohkinstsis, also known as Calgary—and have had the privilege of learning as part of my Master of Social Work program and from Elders, Helpers, and Knowledge Keepers about their worldviews. I remain committed to continuing that learning.
While we learn more, we also need to recognize the incredible resilience of Indigenous cultures that have survived - AND THRIVED - such long-term and intense forms of oppression.
I was once told that every therapist should read Healing the Soul Wound by Eduardo Duran. Having read it, I wholeheartedly agree.
Here are additional resources to support learning: