Today is Orange Shirt Day/National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, providing an important opportunity for settlers and non-Indigenous people to reflect on the horrifying truth of Canada’s residential school system, and its devastating impacts on generations of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. 

It’s a day to remember that our government, with the help of various Christian churches, built this system to violently control and subjugate the Indigenous Peoples on the land we now call Canada. We must confront, and never forget, that over 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, culture, and communities and placed in residential schools where they were subjected to appalling abuse and neglect. Thousands died until the schools were shut down in the 1990s, while survivors, and Indigenous communities as a whole, have struggled not only against the crushing weight of this intergenerational loss and trauma, but also against ongoing colonial and racist policies.

As a non-Indigenous organization working in partnership with Two-Spirit and LGBTQQIA+ Indigenous communities to promote the health of sexual and gender minorities, this means we have a unique and ongoing responsibility to advance reconciliation and decolonization. This includes responding to the TRC’s Calls to Action by integrating Indigenous knowledge and healing practices into our work, in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, researchers, and organizations, and through the leadership of our Two-Spirit Program team. 

While our commitment to reconciliation informs our work broadly at CBRC, one specific priority centres on Two-Spirit ownership of data and research – both within and outside our organization. For too long, the experiences and needs of Indigenous Peoples have been placed at the margins in our health and education systems, which have long contributed to inequities faced by Two-Spirit communities. As we work across CBRC to strengthen queer leadership in research, we also have a steadfast goal of supporting Two-Spirit data stewardship to improve health outcomes among Indigenous Peoples and communities. 

While National Day for Truth and Reconciliation provides an important opportunity for learning and reflection, let’s also remember that substantive work to address the enormous harms from Canada’s residential school system is needed every day – individually, organizationally, and collectively.

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