Also featured are a series of videos in which representatives from the University and its Indigenous communities shared their thoughts and feelings on the day in hopes of sparking further conversations on and off campus.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Robyn-Bourgeois-flag-ceremony-RS-1050x688.jpg\")
Robyn Bourgeois, Brock\u2019s Acting Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, participated in a flag lowering ceremony in advance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation that is featured on a new website of resources for the Brock community.<\/p><\/div>\n
In her recorded message on the site, Brock\u2019s Acting Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement Robyn Bourgeois said the day is a difficult one for Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a hard day for many of us,\u201d she said. \u201cI pray for all of the Indigenous children, past, present and future, who have for too long bore the brunt of the Indian residential school system. I pray for the families, the parents and communities who have lost generations of their children to this system.\u201d<\/p>\n
While encouraging non-Indigenous people to explore the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada and its recommendations, Bourgeois noted that Thursday was also a time to celebrate the perseverance of First Nations, M\u00e9tis and Inuit Peoples.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still here, and I also hope we can find moments to celebrate Indigenous resilience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brock\u2019s Interim President Lynn Wells spoke of the need to fully acknowledge and learn from injustices of the past and to commit to substantive change going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many Canadians, I\u2019ll make time on Sept. 30 to remember those lost children and to reflect on the shameful legacy of the past,\u201d she said. \u201cThis National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, however, is also an opportunity to think about how we can all contribute to a more positive future for the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wells said the University is committed to doing its part to contribute to that positive future.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrock University is putting in place new programs and services to improve access to post-secondary education for Indigenous students and to support them throughout their university years, leading to higher recruitment, retention and graduation rates,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The show of support experienced Thursday left Aboriginal Events Co-ordinator Cindy Biancaniello feeling emotional.<\/p>\n
Overseeing the display in the Rankin Family Pavilion, where members of the Brock community were invited to learn more about Indigenous histories and to write notes of truth and reconciliation, she was moved by the messages and the many orange shirts she saw passing by.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone from across campus has been reaching out to see how they can help and get involved and that has been awesome,\u201d she said. \u201cWearing orange shirts on Sept. 30 has always been a big thing here in Aboriginal Student Services and in Indigenous education in general, but now it\u2019s everywhere. It\u2019s in the community and so many people are taking the time to learn. It\u2019s a horrific legacy that people need to learn about. I want the orange shirts to be as obvious a symbol for people as the poppy is on Remembrance Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is being marked as a statutory holiday for the first time, Orange Shirt Day\u00a0has been observed for years and has its origins in 1973, when Phyllis (Jack) Webstad was stripped of a new orange shirt purchased by her grandmother on her first day at the St. Joseph Mission residential school in Williams Lake, B.C., leaving her feeling worthless and insignificant.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/National-Day-for-Truth-and-Reconciliation-Cindy-Biancaniello-RS-1050x681.jpg\")
Aboriginal Events Co-ordinator Cindy Biancaniello sets up the display featured prominently in the Rankin Family Pavilion during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Thursday, Sept. 30.<\/p><\/div>\n
Biancaniello hopes the Brock community will consult the virtual site<\/a> and other resources to learn more about residential schools in Canada as well as Indigenous histories.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t move forward without knowing the past,\u201d she said. \u201cTo know and understand the truth is absolutely necessary before we begin to reconcile. It\u2019s about education and what better place for that to begin than walking in the front door of this University.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of the Brock community can still show their support by taking pictures of themselves wearing orange shirts and sending the photos to Biancaniello at cbiancaniello@brocku.ca<\/a> to be shared on the Aboriginal Student Services social media platforms.<\/p>\n