National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Psychology community members,

The Psychology Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee joins people across Canada in recognizing September 30, 2023 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. This day is set aside as a day of reflection and remembrance, to both consider the longstanding, grievous, and systemic wrongs that have been perpetrated against Canada’s Indigenous peoples and to acknowledge the current injustices, prejudice, and discrimination that Indigenous peoples still face. As a community, we must continue our work to answer the 94 calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to forward the process of reconciliation.

We encourage you to take a moment and explore the following:

• Learn more about the origin and practice of Orange Shirt Day: Wearing Orange to Heal, to Remember, and Build Collective Power

We are all treaty people, and as such, we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone is treated in an equitable, unbiased, and dignified manner. We would do well to remember the Indigenous notion of “All my relations” ; we are all connected and should live in the spirit of treating every person as such on this and every day.

We also invite community members to wear their orange shirts to campus on September 29th. As always, we are here to support our community and welcome suggestions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Passey and Anthony Singhal (Co-Chairs of the Psychology EDI Committee)
Sent on behalf of the Psychology EDI Committee