Truth and Reconciliation Week 2022
September 26th to September 30th marks a week-long focus on Truth and Reconciliation here at the CDSBEO. We remember Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools never to return home. We honour Residential School Survivors, their families, communities, and all affected by the residential school system.
Some of the many initiatives to commemorate the week-long focus of Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day include:
Introducing primary students to the founder of Orange Shirt Day, Phyllis Webstad. A copy of her book, With Our Orange Hearts, has been distributed to all elementary schools, along with a lesson plan that focuses on kindness.
Sharing the residential school stories of OCSOA Members, Chair & First Nations Trustee Judy Wawia and First Nations Trustee Judy Manitowabi, with secondary students. The CDSBEO sincerely thanks Chair Wawia and Trustee Manitowabi for sharing their stories so that we journey towards reconciliation with Indigenous people in a truthful and authentic way. A donation in their names was made to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
As part of the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario’s commitment to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have partnered for the past three years with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the City of Cornwall to action these calls in a physical way. Since 2020, an Orange Shirt Day Banner has been raised at the Clock Tower in Lamoureux Park in Cornwall prior to September 30th, to promote Orange Shirt Day. Read more about the banner raising here.
By exploring Indigenous knowledge and perspectives throughout the school year, our hope is that #OrangeShirtDay will be one day among many where we actively commit to a greater understanding of truth, so that we can step into a right relationship with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.