Truth & Reconciliation 2022: Learning With The Past

Canadians have been gripping with the realities of their past toward the treatment of indigenous communities for many years now. In 2021 another inflection point arose when the discovery of mass graves at residential schools brought to the attention of the country (and the world) that something needed to be done to recognize the mistreatment of this important community. 

In 2021 we first recognized “Truth and Reconciliation Day”. It presented a day for Canadians to discover the truth of their past mistreatment of the indigenous community in Canada, and catalyzed what was meant to be day of recognition into an ongoing topic of learning and discussion.

By and large, Canadians focused their social discussion of “Truth and Reconciliation” around remembrance, reconciliation and recognition of the vibrancy of the indigenous community in Canada. 2022 did mark a change in the tonality of the conversation around “Truth and Reconciliation”; changing from with some joy but underpinned in (negative) surprise to one more upbeat and joyful.

While Canadians took a more positive tonality to “Truth and Reconciliation Day” in 2022, they also did not forget the reason for the day taking place, with the hashtag #everychildmatters driving notable conversation.

The colour orange acted as a powerful symbol for people to rally around, with people using it as a common social property via hastags, emojis, social displays and the actual wearing of apparel .

Recognizing the importance of “Truth and Reconciliation Day” and how it weaves into to the fabric of Canada needs to continue to be a movement and not a single point and time. Recognizing the uneven equality that the indigenous community is faced with is only the first step; learning, atoning and actioning for the future is how we work toward the goal of real equality across groups.