Canada remembers horrors inflicted on Indigenous peoples
- The first ever National Day of Truth and Reconciliation was declared following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked child graves at former residential schools
- As recently as the 1990s, Indigenous children were forcibly enrolled at such schools, where they were abused and stripped of their culture and language
Canadians on Thursday commemorated a century of injustices against its Indigenous populations in the first ever National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, following shocking discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
“It is a day to reflect. It is a day to honour. It is a day to grieve. It is a day to mourn. It is a day to shed tears,” Algonquin elder Claudette Commanda told a ceremony in front of parliament attended by thousands.
Gatherings and marches were also held in communities across Canada.
The day had been observed unofficially as Orange Shirt Day since 2013 to promote awareness of what a truth and reconciliation commission branded “cultural genocide” of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
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It was inspired by a former student, Phyllis Webstad, who recounted at six years old being stripped of her clothes, including a new orange shirt bought by her grandmother, on her first day of residential schooling.