In observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, being held this year to recognize and honour residential school’s survivors and to raise awareness of the tragic legacy of residential schools, all Nunatsiavut Government offices will be closed on Thursday, September 30, 2021.
Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe is encouraging Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement to wear orange on September 30 in observance of the statutory holiday, which is also Orange Shirt Day inspired by the story of First Nations author Phillis Webstad, who had her clothes, including her new orange shirt, stripped from her on her first day attending residential school when she was six years old.
“As we commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we ask all Beneficiaries to use the day to reflect on what true reconciliation with indigenous peoples really means. The orange shirt serves as a symbol of the tragedies experienced at residential schools, something that should never be forgotten”
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Call to Action No. 80 called on “the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginals peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
The Nunatsiavut Government will be holding National Day for Truth and Reconciliation events in each Labrador Inuit Community, as well as in Happy Valley Goose Bay.