National Day for Truth and Reconciliation allows us to acknowledge the harms caused to Canada’s Indigenous peoples by the residential school system and to reflect on how we, as ordinary Canadians, can contribute to reconciliation.
In the early years of Confederation, Canadian government policy toward Indigenous peoples was characterized by land dispossession, suppression of language and culture, and forced assimilation. In more recent years, the federal government has made attempts to recalibrate the relationship by recognizing Indigenous rights, acknowledging the harms caused by colonization, and starting to make amends.
It would be reassuring to think that the Canadian government, of its own accord, recognized that its earlier policies were wrong. In reality, much of the change in the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada came only after decades of advocacy by Indigenous leaders and communities, residential school and Sixties Scoop survivors, and repeated challenges through the courts. Even today, Indigenous peoples continue to fight governments for recognition of their land rights, adequate funding for their children’s care and education, and fair and equitable treatment.
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its report after receiving more than six thousand statements from residential school survivors, family members, and others affected by the system. The report called for specific actions to address the ongoing effects of residential schools and colonialism through changes in areas such as child welfare, education, health, justice, and public understanding. More than a decade after the release of its 94 Calls to Action, only 14 have been completed, while 39—more than 40%—are either stalled or not yet started.
“We can make the effort to learn about the Indigenous peoples in our area, their history, their culture, and their contributions”
While many of the TRC’s Calls to Action are directed toward governments and other institutions, ordinary citizens like us need to take action too. Recent polling shows that a majority of Canadians believe individuals have a role to play in bringing about reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
When it comes to personal actions, we may feel paralyzed—either because we do not know what to do or because we are afraid of making mistakes. We may also feel that residential schools and land dispossession were things that happened in the past and have nothing to do with us. Or, conversely, we may feel guilty that we continue to benefit from the dispossession of Indigenous peoples in our everyday lives—our houses stand on their ancestral lands, and we benefit from the extraction of resources such as oil and gas, lumber, and precious metals.
While these are understandable feelings, we must move beyond them by taking simple but concrete actions. We can make the effort to learn about the Indigenous peoples in our area, their history, their culture, and their contributions. We can learn about the treaty that, by virtue of living on treaty land, we are also party to, and what that treaty actually promised. We can read a book written by an Indigenous author or attend a talk given by an Indigenous Elder. We can buy from Indigenous businesses, support Indigenous art, or attend an Indigenous event that is open to the public.
To be good allies to Indigenous peoples, we need to listen to and learn from them and amplify their messages. We need to recognize that we do not know what is best for them and that our role is to support their work and follow their lead. We can challenge prejudice, stereotypes, misinformation, and discriminatory practices against Indigenous peoples when we encounter them in our workplaces, schools, or social lives.
Furthermore, we can support the efforts of Indigenous peoples to settle land claims and encourage governments to fulfill their duties to consult with Indigenous communities on land use and resource extraction. We can examine the colonial worldview of pursuing indefinite economic growth and seek to understand how that approach is not working for us or for our planet. We can learn about Indigenous worldviews that incorporate gratitude for what we have and an understanding of our interconnectedness with plants, animals, and the land.
Let’s not treat September 30 as simply another day off work. Let’s give it the consideration it deserves and reflect on the historical and contemporary injustices experienced by the original inhabitants of this land—and on what each of us can do to contribute to reconciliation.
Reconciliation is not about being passive. It is not about making empty apologies. It is not about feeling guilty. Reconciliation requires action.
It is our work to do.
By Vamini Selvanandan© 2026. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Photo credit: Hiago Rocha on Pexels.com
