Back to SearchToday Mayor Bill Gordon, Town Council members and staff gathered to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Town flags were lowered, and a moment of silence was held during a ceremony this morning at Town hall.
The Towns of Midland and Penetanguishene gathered at Little Lake Park for a smudging ceremony and to continue learning more about the call to action for truth and reconciliation. Thank you to Elder Patricia and her family for leading the smudging ceremony and sharing prayers, your stories and songs.
Today, we gather to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Every year September 30 stands as a day to honour the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
September 30 lives as the day where we confront the uncomfortable truths of our past and recognize the enduring impact of colonization, forced assimilation, and cultural genocide on Indigenous communities. This history is what the Indigenous communities are reminded of daily.
We acknowledge the facts that were not taught to us as children and the Indigenous voices that have been silenced. For far too long the experience of Indigenous peoples have been marginalized and ignored.
Remember that the last federally funded residential school closed in 1996, which was a time where most of us were alive. Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities, have shown immense resilience in the progress of healing from the long-term pain Canada inflicted.
We are here wearing orange shirts, but do we all know why? In 1973, which is not very long ago, Phyllis Webstad was wearing her brand-new orange shirt for her first day of school purchased by her grandmother.
When 6-year-old Phyllis arrived at the St. Joseph Mission residential school wearing her new shirt, it was immediately stripped from her.
Phyllis is a residential school survivor, she continues to share her story to this day, saying “the colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
Reconciliation is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing process that requires our collective commitment, dedication, and action. We must be willing to listen to the stories of survivors and their families, acknowledge the historical injustices, and work together to ensure that such atrocities never happen again. We make a commitment to be guided by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation as we move forward and strive to create a community where we uphold our promise of ongoing learning and reconciliation.
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