Truth & Reconciliation

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September 30th marks Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation -- a day of remembrance and acknowledgement of the atrocities of the residential school system, it honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. It shares the date with Orange Shirt Day,, opens a new window an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.  The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

Public recognition and understanding of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is vital to the reconciliation process within Canada.

At Coquitlam Public Library, we are dedicated to providing resources for you to learn more about Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous experiences within Canada. In addition to providing access to the public resources below, and curated lists of Indigenous content available at our branches as well as online, we are also working to respond to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report that have particular relevance to libraries. 

How do public libraries support Truth and Reconciliation? 

  • Working with local Aboriginal community groups in homework help
  • Ensuring culturally, and age-appropriate collections are made available
  • Providing culturally appropriate programming, involving parents and elders
  • Using the principles and approaches of Community-led librarianship to ensure that community needs are identified, prioritized and met
  • Providing culturally appropriate/relevant information literacy workshops
  • Ensuring that story times support early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families
  • Working with local associations, community groups, and city partners to provide culturally appropriate parenting programs for Aboriginal families
  • Providing access to relevant government reports
  • Providing space, resources and facilities to enable public dialogue, public/private partnerships and public initiatives for reconciliation
  • Introducing core training for all staff to ensure awareness of the inter-generational impact of residential schools and colonization
  • Forming staff working group to focus on furthering reconciliation within the Library
  • Adopting a formal statement acknowledging the Treaty, unceded and traditional territory on which the library sits 
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