Solemn day marks historical shame visited upon Canada’s Indigenous peoples

TRENTON, Canada

Canada marked its fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Tuesday, a time to acknowledge the historical wrongs done to 150,000 Indigenous children who were forced to attend special government residential schools.

Some never came home.

Between the mid-1800s and the 1990s, an estimated 6,000 children died from malnutrition, disease and physical abuse.

At times taken by force from families, a significant number were also subjected to sexual abuse in the 130 residential schools established across Canada and run predominantly by the Catholic Church and government-funded.

It is Canada’s national shame and today, also known as Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is a time for the country to remember the truth of the residential schools and reconcile with Indigenous survivors.

The orange shirt represents the ordeal of a young Indigenous girl who had her orange shirt taken from her at one of the residential schools and she never saw it again.

“During this long and painful chapter in our history, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children were separated from their families, communities, languages, and cultures,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told an assembly in Ottawa. “As a government and as a people, we match remembrance with responsibility.”

The search at residential school sites for the unmarked graves of the 6,000 children is ongoing.

There are other tragedies experienced by Indigenous peoples, too, Carney said, including police shortcomings in investigating the approximately 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

There are various events set for Tuesday.

In Ottawa, Carney was to deliver remarks on Parliament Hill at a special Remembering the Children event.

There were also events across the country, including a remembering gathering in Toronto and a memorial walk in Vancouver.

“We pledge to build a future where Survivors are honoured with remembrance, with justice, and with a stronger Canada,” said Carney.