National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – A Call to Action on September 30

Join us at the Bowen Island Library to affirm your commitment to truth and reconciliation in Canada.

September 30 is also known as Orange Shirt Day. Wearing an orange shirt is a way of affirming and honouring the children who attended residential school and their families. The legacy of wearing an orange shirt is based on Phyllis Webstad’s experience of attending residential school. Her story now serves many. We will have her children’s book available for you to read. We may even host a reading circle.

The Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action will also be posted for you to read and learning about. The invitation, echoing the words of TRC Commissioner Justice Sinclair, is to commit to one of the 94 Calls to Action. A way of honouring your commitment is to sink screen a hummingbird onto an orange flag. Come make a flag and take it home, to remember that every day is a day of Truth and Reconciliation.

The parable of the hummingbird, named Dukdukdiya, is an Indigenous teaching, illustrated by long-time islander, Michael Nicholl Yahgulanaas, in his 2008 book, Flight of the Hummingbird. The story goes like this: a forest catches fire, all the animals flee – except for little Dukdukdiya, who takes drops of water to the fire. It is her Call to Action to save the place she calls home. When the bear asks, what are you doing? Dukdukdiya replies, I am doing what I can.

In a time when the troubles of the world seem to be continuously growing and compounding, the little hummingbird offers a way forward. The world may feel out of control, but we are all capable of contributing in some way. If each of us does what we can do – even offering a single drop of water – we are moving forward. Like Phyllis, and Dukdukdiya, one single commitment can ripple out and serve many.

We welcome you to join us.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Monday, September 30, 2024, from 10 am to 3 pm
Bowen Island Library, Eagle Gathering Stage