September 30th, 2021, marks the first National Day for Truth & Reconciliation in Canada. This day honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families, and their communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
We encourage all members of the UNB community to take this day to reflect on how they can play a part in reconciliation. Firstly, we ask that you please read the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to Canada. They can be found here.
If you are looking for resources on campus, we recommend that you visit the Mi’kmaq Wolastoqey Centre website, where you can learn more about their programs, cultural resources, and supports for Indigenous students.
The UNB Community also has an Indigenous Student Council. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Violet at violet.eliza.sioux@unb.ca or Kianna at kianna.bh@unb.ca.
Furthermore, we encourage you to hear and amplify Indigenous voices into your everyday lives, whether this be through friends on campus, podcasts, music, books, or any other forms of connections you may be interested in. Here are a few recommendations:
Audiovisual Media:
The Truth About Stories, Thomas King lecture series
Métis and Me podcast
All My Relations podcast
This Place podcast
Telling our Twisted Histories podcast
ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐅᓂᒃᑳᖏᑦ (Inuit Unikkaangit) podcast
Books by Indigenous Authors:
In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier
NDN Coping Mechanisms by Billy-Ray Belcourt
On/Me by Francine Cunningham
A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
Peace and Good Order by Harold B. Johnson
If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie with Nahanni Shingoose
Searching for…Inuktitut Style and Learning and Preserving by Breana Andrews
In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott
Bones by Tyler Pennock
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens by Pamela Palmater
Instagram Accounts & Topics:
@indigenousclimateaction
@wolastoqeducation
@fallonfarinacci
@unbmwc
@lnuey.ca
@wetsuweten_checkpoint
@indigenouswomenrising
@reclaimyourpower
#trccanada
#nationaldayfortandr
#truthandreconciliation
#mmiw
#mmiwg2s
#everychildmatters
#orangeshirtday
#indigenouslivesmatter