In June 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released 94 Calls to Action. The purpose of these calls, the TRC stated, is to “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” Many of these calls concern education, including post-secondary institutions. Every September 30th we observe Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a time to remember the legacy of residential schools, honour the memory of the children who died in them, and to understand the experiences of survivors.
It is also a time to reflect upon the calls to action and how, as students, faculty, and staff we are integrating them into our daily practice.
Call to action #62 includes:
“We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:
“Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.
“Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education.”
Call to action #65 reads:
“We call upon the federal government, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, post-secondary institutions and educators, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and its partner institutions, to establish a national research program with multi-year funding to advance understanding of reconciliation.”
Learn more about Orange Shirt Day at the Department of Economics.
Return to the Department of Economics website.
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