Canada Marks First National Holiday for Indigenous Reconciliation

Canada on Thursday held its the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honor the lost children and survivors of indigenous schools, following the gruesome discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at two former schools earlier this year.

The so-called residential school system, which operated between 1831 and 1996, removed about 150,000 indigenous children from their families. {snip}

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A ceremony was held in front of parliament on Thursday, and there were similar events around the country. Later, there will be a one-hour national broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) and other channels with the stories and perspectives of those affected by the residential school system.

“Take this new National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to set aside the impact of the untruthful version of history that has long been presented and to learn from Indigenous voices,” said former Senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Indigenous leaders have said the day should be recognized also by provinces, so that it is not limited to federal employees. For example Ontario, the most populous province, is not recognizing the holiday and so schools, the stock market and most businesses remain open.

“If the (Ontario) government fails to properly acknowledge the theft of thousands of our children, that is part of the problem. They are the problem,” Sol Mamakwa, a New Democrat indigenous lawmaker in the Ontario legislature, told the CBC.

Multiple cities scrapped Canada Day celebrations on July 1 after the discovery of hundreds of children’s remains {snip}