Illustration by Katie Doyle 

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On Thursday, September 30, Canada will observe its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and its eighth annual Orange Shirt Day in recognition of the country’s history of genocide committed against Indigenous populations. Students and faculty at George Brown College have been preparing for this day to honour residential school survivors and remember those who were lost.

This year marks an especially solemn recognition following the discovery of over 6,500 unmarked graves of Indigenous children at former residential school sites since May. These discoveries continue to be met with horror and grief for the young lives lost and countless families affected by this trauma.

Following these discoveries and the outrage over past and continued injustices against Indigenous people, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is long overdue. This Thursday, George Brown students and faculty will honour the cultural and literal genocide of Indigenous children and families as a result of the residential school system.

In the past few years, GBC has tried to increase its Indigenous representation. Antoinette Salazar, a supporting staff lead at the Community Care Centre (CCC), has recognized the growth of Indigenous representation at GBC in the past three years.

“I have seen the Indigenous Student Services space, on Casa Loma campus, grow from a small room into a large space for students to congregate,” said Salazar.

When asked about the support of the Indigenous community at GBC, Salazar expressed hope that support was coming from both the internal population of staff and students, as well as the external community in which GBC exists. Although she commented that there are limited opportunities to speak with leadership at the school, she stated that she “truly [hopes] that the support of Indigenous groups is coming from everywhere at George Brown”.

The CCC acts as a resource for students and faculty at GBC and is described as a good landing spot for Indigenous students by Salazar. The centre focuses on six equity groups including First Nation, Inuit and Métis students and provides programming specifically shaped for students and GBC community members who identify as a member of an equity group. The programming is centred around topics such as mental health, reproduction rights, and harm reduction.

As GBC commemorates the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Salazar reflected on the college’s opportunities for to provide better support for Indigenous students.

“There’s always room for growth,” she says. “And I think we are heading in the right direction by taking small steps towards achieving the calls to action and hopefully using the report made around anti-racism to initiate change.”

Salazar, along with other CCC members, will be attending the events held by the college’s Indigenous Education and Services (IES) team with hopes that they are organized with care.

The IES is holding a Debwewin (Truth) awareness campaign event this Thursday. Residential school survivor elder Shishigo Gijig will be holding a conversation to share her story of survival and hope. On Friday, October 1, the college will launch its monthly Indigenous Knowledge Keeper Series will take place where Chief Cadmus Delorme of the Cowessess First Nation will be holding a conversation about truth and reconciliation.

According to Nikki Luscombe, senior manager of communications at GBC, the events hosted by the IES aim to “raise awareness of the dark and tragic legacy of Indian Residential Schools in Canada [and] the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action; educate and encourage actionable change; and promote the support available through GBC’s Indigenous Education and Services.”

The Debwewin campaign has been in place for roughly one month as a countdown to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Luscombe has been working closely with the IES team, where they hope to “inspire [their] colleagues to incorporate the themes of truth and reconciliation in their work here at the college”.

With Debwewin, Luscombe stated that the main objective is to put learning at the centre.

“It has become abundantly clear that we all have a lot of work to do,” she says. “We need to educate ourselves about the history and legacy of residential schools and listen to Indigenous voices as we try to navigate this winding path towards reconciliation.”

To commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, we implore all students to wear orange in support of Indigenous communities. To participate in the events held by IES, register here. To learn more about the resources available for Indigenous students at GBC, please visit the Indigenous Education and Services page.

Land Acknowledgement

George Brown College’s campuses are on the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee (known colonially as the Iroquois or Six Nations), and the Anishinaabek, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations. We are subject of the Dish with One Spoon treaty. This treaty represents that we are not to take more than one spoon’s worth from a shared dish, and leave enough for future generations. Everyone occupying this land should see themselves as living within this treaty.