Reconciliation & Me

The Huntsville Public Library and the Town of Huntsville are committed to honouring and spotlighting Aboriginal people and culture.

Residential schools were boarding schools for Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) children and youth, financed by the federal government but staffed and run by several Christian religious institutions. Children were separated from their families and communities, sometimes by force, to live in and attend classes at the schools for most of the year. Often, the residential schools were located far from the students’ home communities. The schools were in existence for well over 100 years, and successive generations of children and families from the same communities endured this experience.

Impacts of this were severe. History was hidden. Though it will take time and commitment to heal the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and Canada, the reconciliation process has begun.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) educates Canadians on the profound injustices inflicted on First Nations, Inuit, and the Métis Nation by the forced removal of children to attend residential schools. The NCTR Archives and Collections is the foundation for ongoing learning and research. Here, survivors, their families, educators, researchers, and the public can examine the residential school system more deeply with the view of fostering reconciliation and healing.

In memory and legacy of the residential school system, the library will make accessible Indigenous content during Truth and Reconciliation Week. The community will have access to watch educational content created by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Truth and Reconciliation week is a five-day national event that will continue the conversations from Every Child Matters. Important conversations including the truths of the Indigenous treaties, First Nation, Métis and Inuit land claims, and the residential schools' system. The library will host this online event that will provide exclusive video content and activities — all supported by artistic and cultural performances by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists.

Created by Indigenous storytellers, these videos will show traditional ceremonies and artistic performances, alongside conversations with Elders and knowledge keepers, Survivors, and children of Survivors of residential schools. There will also be a moving tribute to the Missing Children that never returned home from the residential schools.

September 30, Orange Shirt Day or National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day 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. The Huntsville Public Library and The Town of Huntsville are committed to keeping the reconciliation process alive.

Why should it matter to those who didn’t attend residential schools?

• IT MATTERS because it continues to affect First Nations, Inuit and Métis families–people from vibrant cultures who are vital contributors to Canadian society.
• IT MATTERS because it happened here, in a country we call our own–a land considered to be a free and democratic land where every person has human rights.
• IT MATTERS because Indigenous communities suffer levels of poverty, illness, and illiteracy comparable to those in developing nations–conditions that are being perpetuated through inaction.
• IT MATTERS because we share this land. We may not be responsible for what happened in the past, but we all benefit from what First Nations, Inuit, and Metis have had to relinquish.
• IT MATTERS because we are responsible for our actions today.