On September 30, we observe and pay our respects for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is a solemn day for many Indigenous students, staff, faculty, and community members, but also for the country as a whole. As we continue to learn and reconcile with our shared history, we acknowledge the grief, immense harm, and loss that survivors and their families continue to carry, and the forever unspoken testimony of those lost to residential schools and day schools. No set of words in any order can undo that harm, but we offer them with humility and a commitment to listen, learn, and act, so that there is less cause for suffering in future generations.
On this day, we honour the children taken and harmed by residential schools and day schools. We recognize the survivors who are burdened with the dreadful legacy of oppression, and we reflect on the ongoing impacts of Canada’s structures of injustice and shameful history of residential schools and discrimination. We also thank and acknowledge the contributions of Phyllis Webstad and the Orange Shirt day tradition that follows, and recognize the role it plays in truth and reconciliation.
We acknowledge that the University of Victoria and the UVSS operate on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) and territories of importance to the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. We are continually grateful for the opportunity to live, learn, and work on these lands and we offer this acknowledgement as one step among many in a long process of responsibility and improvement.
We reaffirm the UVSS’s responsibility to create a campus where Indigenous students, staff, and community members are safe, respected, and supported. We recognize that our commitment to strengthening relations and advancing understanding is modest compared with the work required to heal old and ugly wounds and establish real social trust, but we take our responsibility to the cause of truth and reconciliation seriously with each and every step.
It must also be said that discriminatory and oppressive histories and structures have shaped our educational institutions, and that genuine equity, equality, and correction requires ongoing attention and collective work. We have, and continue to, advocate for these issues and others to be addressed with the appropriate concern and passion that they deserve, as a part of our efforts to both scrutinize and collaborate with the University.
For individual members of our community, we encourage reflection and learning: wear orange if you feel called to do so, read survivor testimony, and support Indigenous-led organizations and student groups. We encourage those who have, through the complicated and often problematic social makeup of this country, directly or indirectly benefited from the oppressive histories of this country to reflect on their role in truth and reconciliation. We must learn how we can promote healing in our communities.
Finally, to all of our Indigenous students and community members: we see you, we hear you, and we are devoted to ensuring that your place at UVic is one marked by dignity and respect. The UVSS will continue to listen, to act, and to be held accountable by all of those we serve, for the good of all students. Thank you.
With respect,
The UVSS Board of Directors
Educational Resources
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website: https://nctr.ca/
Information on the history and present of Orange Shirt Day: https://orangeshirtday.org
Events
For all of the UVic-supported community events for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt day, view this webpage: https://www.uvic.ca/event/orange-shirt-day/index.php
South Island Powwow by Songhees Nation: https://www.songheesnation.ca/south-island-powwow
Support Resources
Indian Residential School Survivors Society Crisis Line
24-hour crisis line for survivors and family of survivors. Toll-Free: 1-866-925-4419
KUU-US Crisis Line Society
The KUU-US Crisis Line Society operates a 24-hour provincial Aboriginal crisis line for adults/Elders and youth.
Adults/Elders: 250-723-4050
Children/Youth: 250-723-2040
Toll-free Line: 1-800-588-8717