indigenous people – Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library

Wear an orange shirt to school on Friday, September 26

September 30th is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada. Our school will be closed that day as the nation takes time to face the truth of our history and considers a path forward of reconciliation. As a school community, we continue to learn more about Truth and Reconciliation. At Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary, we encourage all students and staff to wear an orange shirt in school on Friday, September 26, as well as on September 30th.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established as the Canadian government’s formal recognition of the importance of Orange Shirt Day, observed on September 30 over most of the last decade, as part of the overall effort of raising awareness and provoking discussion about the impact of Residential Schools in Canada, and finding the path toward reconciliation.

On this day in 1885, Louis Riel was hanged for High Treason by Canadian authorities. Riel was a Metis leader who led the resistance of his people against the Canadian government in the Red River Rebellion of 1869 and the North-West Rebellion of 1884. Few Canadians can come even close to Riel as a divisive figure in Canadian history. Riel was portrayed as an enemy of Canada by the government of John A. Macdonald, a view that was held by many anglophone Canadians for many years, and still by some today. On the other hand, Metis was a hero to the Metis, to indigenous people in general, and to many French Canadians, and anglophone Catholics. To them Riel represented those that would stand up against the elites whose vision of Canada was dominated by white people, English speakers, and Protestants of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Today more Canadians look favourably upon Riel, a complex figure whose life is entwined with so many problematic issues from Canada’s history that still challenge us today.