How to mark the 1st National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in the Hamilton area

Thursday, Sept. 30 will mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

But while it's a new, federal statutory holiday, recognizing that date as significant is nothing new for Indigenous communities, which have long donned orange shirts to raise awareness of residential schools and their lasting impact.

Rick Monture is a member of the Mohawk nation, Turtle clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River and said his grandfather and uncle went to the Mohawk Institute Residential School.

A professor with McMaster University's Indigenous Studies program and author of We Share Our Matters: Two Centuries of Writing and Resistance at Six Nations of the Grand River, Monture said he's spends most days teaching so he intends to take the day to step back and let other Canadians do the work of learning about the country's history.

He also plans to spend Sept. 30 reflecting on what his family members survived and holding his one-year-old son close.

"That day, I think for us, is to celebrate our little people and community, to hold those kids that we do have that much closer and think about what other generations have been through."

CBC Hamilton spoke with him and other Indigenous community members who shared their thoughts on the meaning of the day and how others should spend it.

The opportunity Sept. 30 presents

Kimberly Murray is head of the survivor's secretariat overseeing a search of the grounds of the former Mohawk Institute in Brantford. She also served as executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

Murray said one of the goals of the TRC was to provide broader education about what happened in residential schools, noting she's heard from older generations that they had  "no idea" what was happening at residential schools. That is now changing, she said. 

"More and more kids [are] being taught this history and so it's another opportunity for our kids now, who are learning it, to have those conversations with their parents who didn't," Murray said.

"It's another opportunity to reflect on history, the role of institutions ... reflect on what you can do to further reconciliation in your life and work."

'It's every day'

Today, the Mohawk Institute has been transformed into the Woodland Cultural Centre. Janis Monture  — a relative of the McMaster professor, her grandfather is his uncle — is executive director of the centre and said staff are running virtual events to make sure people understand what took place there.

"It wasn't just something that happened for 142 years for this specific site," she said. "The impacts continued generations later and we're still impacted today."

The executive director added that for her the impact of residential schools isn't something she feels for a single day.

"It's every day when I am in the space, working as well as all of my team. For us it's not just Sept. 30. It's something we live and work with."

Monture agrees."We still can't drink water, we still have health crises, housing is still a problem, land claims haven't been resolved," he said. "They just slap these little Band-Aids on them and call them reconciliation."

At the end of the day, he said, people want change.

"We need real progress, something beyond a single day," the professor said. "We want to see some real action."

What you can do

Those we spoke with offered several suggestions for how others, especially non-Indigenous people, might want to spend the day or for ongoing reconciliation efforts. They told us: 

• Read the TRC report. "I've been encouraging people to read the TRC report, reflect on the calls to action, see what you can do in your own community," said Janis.

• Dive deeper into local Indigenous history. "Investigate a bit more into the life story of Joseph Brant," suggested Monture. "Burlington carries a lot of Brant's legacy and his name. The hospital is named after him — Joseph Brant Hospital. The city kind of took over his land where his estate was." Also: "Make yourself more aware of local history to do with Indigenous people. This area is known as the Dish with One Spoon. Do some reading on what that means. Familiarize yourself with the local Indigenous history," he said. 

• Learn more about residential schools, especially those in your area. "Read, take the tour of the Woodland Cultural Centre … know what residential school was in your area, understand the history of it," said Murray. Woodland Culture Centre offers tours — right now, virtually. Monture says understanding the legacy of that institution is particularly important for residents of this area.  "Reflect upon the legacy of residential schools locally because the oldest running one in Canada is located in Brantford, next to Six Nations and about half an hour from Hamilton," he said. 
   
• Reflect on current discussions and debates happening in your community. "Think some more about the story of John A. Macdonald and why Hamilton City Council might have wanted to have kept that statue up while others had other things in mind," said Monture. "Why the controversy, why the anger and, even more importantly, why the resistance by the mayor and the rest of the city councillors as to why they kind of wanted to kind of not engage with that, while other cities were pretty quick in taking down the statues of Macdonald."
   
• Support Indigenous organizations and businesses. "Not just on Sept. 30, but every day throughout the year," said Janis. "It's really important to understand not just that piece of our history, but our reality today."

Other ways to mark Sept. 30 locally:

• The Woodland Cultural Centre has been running Orange Shirt Day programming since Sept. 20 to provide virtual educational resources to help students, organizations, businesses so they can learn more about the history of residential schools. Among the tools they have is a virtual tour of the former Mohawk Institute and a digital workshop on the TRC.

• The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is also hosting events throughout the week.

• The Niagara Regional Native Centre hosts an event at St Catharines City Hall at 10 a.m.

• De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre will stream "Our children, our voices," a video of ceremony, resilience, and healing at 1 p.m. on its Facebook page.

• The Hamilton Regional Indian Centre hosts an event from 2 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., including children's activities and crafts. 34 Ottawa St N.

• Hamilton's Afro Canadian Caribbean Association is holding a community conversation with Pat Mandy, a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, about the TRC's calls to action. It's set to take place on Sept. 30, from 3-4 p.m.

• The Urban Indigenous Peoples of Burlington present an event from 12-6 p.m. at Spencer Smith Park, including a memorial walk from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

• Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council (SNGREC) is hosting a candlelight vigil to honour residential school Survivors and the children at Chiefswood Park in Ohsweken. Survivors and Elected Chief Mark Hill are expected to speak at 6:30 p.m. (Remarks will be livestreamed on the Six Nations of the Grand River Facebook page as attendance will be limited.) 

• The Art Gallery of Hamilton is hosting a free workshop at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30 led by Indigenous community members Jordan Carrier, Michael Blashko and Rebecca Hammond. It will feature stories and discussion about the day and ways to follow through on reconciliation. Anyone interested can register to attend in person or online.

• Cayuga artist Kyle Joedicke will be hosting a DJing fundraiser at the Lounge at Casbah on Sept. 30 with all proceeds going toward the Save the Evidence campaign at the Woodland Cultural Centre.

• Later in the week, on Oct. 2, Six Nations author Dawn Cheryl Hill launches Memory Keeper, a collection of stories about the legacy of the residential school system. The virtual event takes place at 7 p.m.