The National Day for Truth & Reconciliation is the result of decades of work by several groups, including the Working Group on Truth and Reconciliation and of the Exploratory Dialogues (1998-1999) (click here to read about the origins of the TRCC). The work of these groups culminated in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history. As per Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, "one of the elements of the agreement was the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to facilitate reconciliation among former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians."
One of the TRCC's 94 Calls to Action (#80), was a call to establish a statutory holiday "to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process". In the summer of 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was officially established by the federal government.
Image from the Two Row Times
To begin learning about Truth & Reconciliation, check out the resources below and consult the rest of this guide for more information.
Our Stories: First Peoples in Canada
An open textbook created by a team at Centennial College for students in GNED 410, 411, and 412: First Peoples in Canada (formerly GNED 250, 251, 252).
iPortal
The Indigenous Studies Portal (iPortal) is a database of full-text electronic resources such as books, articles, theses and documents as well as digitized materials such as photographs, archival resources, maps, etc. focusing primarily on First Nations and Aboriginals of Canada with a secondary focus on North American materials and beyond.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada by Darion Boyington, John A Roberts (ISBN: 1772552992)
This is a concise overview of Indigenous Peoples from pre-contact to the 21st century. The book is intended for any overview course in Native Studies. It examines key topics such as treaty processes, land claims, and contemporary socio-economic issues and features an emphasis on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and its "calls to action."
Indigenous Canada, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) by the University of Alberta
The University of Alberta's Indigenous Canada MOOC explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous peoples today from a historical and critical perspective highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. Indigenous Canada is for students from faculties outside the Faculty of Native Studies with an interest in acquiring a basic familiarity with Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relationships