Guides: Indigenous Studies: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Highlight of Library Resources on Residential Schools

About National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The Government of Canada has passed legislation to make September 30 a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day is an important step in the reconciliation process. It provides an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and to honour their survivors, their families and communities.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Calls to Action
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Progress on Realizing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action
Assembly of First Nations
SPECIAL REPORT Calls to Action Accountability: A 2020 Status Update on Reconciliation
Yellowhead Institute; Eva Jewell and Ian Mosby
Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
Government of Canada
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
The NCTR is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations.
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) at UBC provides access for former Indian Residential School students, their families, and communities to records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (housed at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives).

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Findings

The Final Report

Canada’s Residential Schools: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released December 15, 2015. It is divided into six volumes that encapsulate the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Vol 1: The History Part 1: Origins to 1939 and Part 2: 1939-2000
Vol 2: The Inuit and Northern Experience
Vol 3: The Métis Experience
Vol 4: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials
Vol 5: The Legacy
Vol 6: Reconciliation

Additional Reports

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released the following reports, all of which can be found at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation of Canada
What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation
The Survivors Speak: A Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action

Library Resources

Browse Canada's Truth and Reconciliation resources in the Library's collection
Books on Canada's Truth and Reconciliation
Sample books on Canada's Truth and Reconciliation available in Durham College Library.
Videos on Canada's Truth and Reconciliation
Sample videos on Canada's Truth and Reconciliation available through Durham College Library.

Featured Books

The Survivors Speak : a report of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada by Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada
Call Number: E96.5 .T783 2015
ISBN: 9780660019857
Canada's Residential Schools : the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Call Number: E96.5 .T78 2015
ISBN: 9780773598294
A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System by John S. Milloy
Call Number: E96.5 .M56 2017
ISBN: ‎9780887557897
Publication Date: University of Manitoba Press
Residential Schools and Reconciliation: Canada Confronts Its History by James Rodger Miller
Call Number: E96.5 .M53 2017
ISBN: 1487502184
The book tackles and explains the institutional responses to Canada's residential school legacy.
A Knock on the Door: The Essential History of Residential Schools from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
ISBN: 0887552269
Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada : Calls to Action
Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Featured Videos

Canada's Residential School Apology
In June 2008, the government of Canada apologized to Indigenous Canadians for the way they were treated in residential schools. Thousands of First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were forced into government-financed schools where many suffered physical and sexual abuse.
Beyond 94: Truth and Reconciliation in Canada (Video Series)
Cbc.ca/beyond94 allows students to track outcomes on the Calls to Action, learn more about the residential school(s) that operated near their communities (explore the interactive map) and discover concrete examples of how Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians can work together.
Finding Peter Bryce
Journalist and teacher Andy Bryce traces the story of his great-grandfather, Peter Bryce – from his childhood in rural Ontario, to his mysterious death on a cruise ship in the West Indies
First Contact (Series)
First Contact takes six Canadians on a 28-day journey intended to challenge these attitudes and shed a light on the true Indigenous experience.
CBC Arts Road to Reconciliation Panel Discussion
How can Chanie Wenjack's story make a difference? Following The Secret Path broadcast, CBC live-streamed The Road to Reconciliation, a special one-hour panel conversation hosted by Melanie Nepinak Hadley.
Holy Angels
Jay Cardinal Villeneuve’s short documentary Holy Angels powerfully recaptures Canada’s colonialist history through impressionistic images and the fragmented language of a child.
Stolen Children: Truth and Reconciliation
This collection of six documentaries from The National profiles Justice Murray Sinclair, Manitoba’s first Aboriginal judge and the head of the Commission; uncovers the personal stories of survivors both on the ground in Winnipeg and across Canada; and gets up-close with 11-year-old Wanekia Morning Star Cooke to hear the younger generation’s take on the residential school experience.
Treaties, Reconciliation and Indigenous History in Canada
A panel discuss how well Canadians know Indigenous history, what role did treaties play in forming the country, and if the stories told through truth and reconciliation changing our understanding of Canadian history.
Truth and Reconciliation: The Legacy of Residential Schools in Canada
This program examines the history, legacy and current impacts of the Residential School experience in Canada. From the establishment of the early Residential Schools to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this film shines a light into this dark chapter of Canadian history.