National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

by George Roy | Sep 28, 2022 | Indigenous Law, Library Closure

September 30th will be the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day of reflection on the history and legacy of the residential school system, honouring the survivors, family members and communities affected. This year the Manitoba courts will not be sitting as per last year’s notice, and the courthouse will also be closed. The library will be open, providing service either by phone or email.

If you wish to learn more about Indigenous Laws and history, the Library has texts and resources available both in print and online.

Law Library Texts

Available in print.

Aboriginal law — 5th ed., Isaac. Thomson Reuters. 2016

Aboriginal and treaty rights practice, Macaulay. Thomson Reuters. (current to 2021)

Annotated Aboriginal Law: the Constitution, Legislation and Treaties. Imai. Thompson Reuters. 2017

Understanding treaties : a primer Education and Competence Department, Law Society of Manitoba. 2015.

Articles available online

These articles and others are also available in vLex through the Member’s Portal.

Volume 41-4: Aboriginal Children

Aboriginal Child Protection and Dual Citizenship: Membership has its Benefits
Troy Hunter
Aboriginal children often have dual citizenship in one or more Indian bands. This complicates things!

The Missing Children Project
Stephanie Jansen
Thousands of Aboriginal children are missing or unaccounted for. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission wants to know what happened to them.

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Decision and the Jordan Principle
Edward Apolonio
How long must Aboriginal Children wait to receive funding equal to other Canadian children?

Envisioning an Indigenous Jurisdictional Process
Janice Makokis
Onion Lake Cree Nation is undertaking an Indigenous law-making and governing process.

The “Sixties Scoop”: A Dark Chapter in Canadian History
Rachel Shabalin
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has delivered a decision on the devastating effects of the ‘60s Scoop of Aboriginal children

Vol 40-4: Mar/Apr 2016 Special Report: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Era of Reconciliation: A Sacred Relationship
Troy Hunter
The Truth and Reconciliation Report stresses what we have long known: we are all in this together.

The Indian Residential Schools: A Chronology
John Edmond
The chronology of the residential schools spans centuries and generations.

Truth and Reconciliation is Canada’s Last Chance to Get it Right
John Ralston Saul
Canada’s Indigenous peoples have been patient: now we must act.

Calls to Action: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report
John Edmond
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report made 94 recommendations.  They will require action from multiple levels of government, institutions and even the Pope!

Other resources

For more information of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take a look at these sources.

The reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and other government reports, are freely available online.

“The Indian Residential School Survivor Society (IRSSS) is a provincial organization with a twenty-year history of providing services to Indian Residential School Survivors. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society began in 1994 as a working committee of the First Nations Summit. We were known as the Residential School Project, housed out of and as a part of the BC First Nations Summit. Our work was primarily to assist Survivors with the litigation process pertaining to Residential School abuses. In more recent years our work has expanded to include assisting the descendants of Survivors and implementing Community education measures (Indigenous & Non-Indigenous).”

“Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in May 2013. This project was the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who is a former student himself.  It brought together former students and their families from the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in, Southern Dakelh and St’at’imc  Nations along with the Cariboo Regional District, the Mayors and municipalities, School Districts and civic organizations in the Cariboo Region. 
“The events were designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation.  Chief Justice Murray Sinclair challenged all of the participants to keep the reconciliation process alive, as a result of the realization that every former student had similar stories.”