Truth & Reconciliation
Honouring Indigenous communities
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Jump To: Library Role | About Land Acknowledgement | Terms to Know |
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 intergenerational 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.
Acknowledging Unceded Territory
At the start of many of our programs, events, and internal meetings—and in the footer of our website—you’ll see our Land Acknowledgement:
We acknowledge with gratitude and respect that the name Coquitlam was derived from the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Hunquminum) word kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) meaning “Red Fish Up the River”. The Coquitlam Public Library is honoured to be located on the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm traditional, ancestral and unceded lands, including those parts that were historically shared with the q̓ic̓ əy ̓ (Katzie), and other Coast Salish Peoples.
Also known as territorial acknowledgements, land acknowledgements are brief statements that honour the land and the Indigenous peoples who have lived—and continue to live—on it long before Canada’s colonial era. These statements share a perspective rooted in the history and ongoing presence of Indigenous communities connected to the land. Since the 2015 release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s, opens a new window final report, land acknowledgements have become a common practice for many Canadians. To better understand land acknowledgements and the deep relationship Indigenous peoples have with the land, it can be helpful to learn the meanings of terms like traditional, settler, and unceded.