National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

High school (ages 12+)
Holidays & Celebrations

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?Claims of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential school sites
2. What is the date of observance?September 30th annually
3. What is the inspiration for orange shirt day?The personal testimony of Phyllis Jack Webstad regarding her lost orange shirt
4. Why do people wear orange shirts on this day?Orange shirts symbolize the lost belongings and identity of Indigenous children who had their shirts taken at residential schools, like Phyllis Jack Webstad.
5. When did the residential school system start and end?It began in the late 19th century and ended in the 1970s.

Cultural Genocide: The systematic destruction of a group's cultural identity, traditions, and heritage through coercive policies and actions.
Reconciliation: The process of establishing harmonious relations between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians, involving truth, justice, and healing.
Assimilationist Policy: Government strategies designed to absorb minority cultural groups into the dominant culture, often suppressing their distinct identities.
Intergenerational Trauma: The transmission of trauma from one generation to the next, often resulting from historical injustices and adverse experiences.