Parnia Hojjatpanah/ Staff reporter
On September 30 it was Truth and Reconciliation Day. This event was created quite recently. Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on September 30th. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that honours the children who survived residential schools and remember those who did not.
When asking Gleneagle Secondary School questions about this event and how they had felt, there were both teens and adults that were asked to see the different perspectives.
The first question that they were asked was what was their thought on the graves/the school is found?
“I think it’s really sad honestly because everyone is like “Oh Canada is great; oh Canada is such a free country” and that we have no problems or whatever and like all the stuff comes up. It makes you realize everything isn’t what it seems and it’s just heartbreaking. I was born in Canada, and I was proud of it.” Sofia.M grade 10 student
“I think it’s disgusting. I also think that we have known about these schools for quite some time so I’m not sure why it’s taken so long to recover those bodies and give those families the closure that they need.” Mrs. Dingle social studies teacher
These two quotes stood out. You can defiantly see the difference. It was horrible what happened. As Ms. Dingle had said, “we have known about these schools for a long time”.
Many people think what happened to the Indigenous people was awful however many people think it’s “bs”. There were positive, neutral, and negative comments.
The second question was how do you feel about Truth and Reconciliation Day?
“I think it’s a great idea for us all to reflect on our history and it’s a great opportunity to learn more about Indigenous culture and history.” Ms. Morenz science teacher
About all the students that were interviewed liked the idea of a day off and many teachers had said that they would like it if we all would be at school learning about the Indigenous community.
The last question that they were asked was how do you think this will affect future generations?
“It will make them think more and hopefully not make the same mistake.” Emma. B grade 10 student
Having future generations know more about what happened will make a huge impact for the better. About everyone said that they would want them to know/be educated more about this topic.
Information:
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – Canada.ca
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