Truth and Reconciliation Matters

Tomorrow UTS will mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which takes place on Saturday, September 30. For the second year, UTS is dedicating the entire day to Truth and Reconciliation because it is so important for the whole school community to pause, reflect and think deeply about these issues. As a school, it is our responsibility to actively work to address the calls to action laid out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as we move forward together. 

Throughout the day, your children will have the opportunity to learn firsthand from Indigenous speakers. They will have a chance to learn some words in Indigenous languages, take part in cultural workshops, and hear videotaped survivor testimony from Louise Longclaws, who at just six years of age was sent to Brandon Indian Residential School for five long years. She lives to tell her story, but as we all know, many did not.  

A school is supposed to be a place of safety, a place of learning and growth, but residential schools were anything but. The lessons learned there by children like Louise are quite simply heartbreaking.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity to build understanding that stays with our students not just on this one day, but every day throughout the school year. 

This year, UTS will continue in our efforts towards anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion by continuing to incorporate Indigenous perspectives, achievements and ways of learning into the classroom. Andrew McConnell, who is of mixed heritage, English and Anishinaabe, and a member of Nipissing First Nation, is serving as a resource to our staff on Indigenous issues. A course director at York University’s Faculty of Education, he is on secondment from his role as coordinator of First Nations, Métis and Inuit education at the York Region District School Board. 

We will also welcome our Indigenous artist-in-residence, Cris Derksen, who comes from a line of chiefs from North Tallcree Reserve on her father’s side and a line of strong Mennonite homesteaders on her mother’s. A cellist and composer, Cris will use the time to work on a new composition for our school that we will in turn share with other schools. 

Truth and Reconciliation matters. Understanding is just the beginning. As a society, we have to move beyond only listening to the Survivors. We cannot keep hearing their stories, without giving back. Action can be our gift to them. That is our hope for tomorrow, and the future beyond. 

Dr. Leanne Foster

Principal, UTS

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