National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
DABC will be closed on Monday, October 2nd, to acknowledge the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. While September 30th has held this designation for years, this is the first year it is being recognized as a statutory holiday in BC.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never made it home from residential schools as well as the Survivors of those “schools,” and acknowledges both this terrible history as well as the ongoing impacts of residential schools and the challenges and injustices that Indigenous communities continue to face. It also encourages the celebration of Indigenous cultures.
It is based on Orange Shirt Day, which was founded by Phyllis Webstad, a Survivor of residential school. You can learn more about Phyllis and this movement here: https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/.
We encourage you to take this day to reflect, learn, and have conversations with people in your orbit. There are many commemorative events across Canada. This article has more information about the day and events across BC:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/truth-and-reconciliation-day-1.6981764.
