Beyond wearing orange: How to meaningfully mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

globalnews.ca:

Sept. 30, 2023 will mark 10 years of Orange Shirt Day and three years since National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was formally recognized as a statutory holiday in Canada.It’s the first year British Columbia will join Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island to make it a provincial stat as well — providing an opportunity for Canadians to meaningfully mark the day.While people are encouraged to wear an orange shirt, how can Canadians go beyond that and engage more actively in truth and reconciliation?Global News spoke with five Indigenous people to get their thoughts:Note: The following interviews have been edited for length and clarity.Angela White is the executive director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, an organization that provides essential services to residential school survivors and families. I think the biggest and most important part of people working towards meaningful reconciliation is to educate themselves and not just relying on Indigenous people to be that voice.

Pick up the books, watch the movies, be actively resourceful so they can have a more interactive experience when we do get to Sept. 30.

It’s about meaningfully and respectfully engaging in culture.Listening to survivor stories, even if it’s not in person, there’s enough survivor stories out there on video, on podcasts, in books that people can actually start to understand where survivors are coming from — how residential schools have impacted their families, communities, and what that healing journey looks like. It’s believing those stories too.Donating to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society is a meaningful way for people to participate because we’re out here doing the work.