Technolandy

Day 20 (of 2025/26) annual reflection on the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

I think I am proudest of one of my comments that I added into our asynchronous assembly this year that said: we will now it’s working when we no longer have/need A day on Truth and Reconciliation because EVERY day will have elements of T&R embedded within it. 

I am privileged today to be wearing a shirt from a school I was at that mindfully chose to create our spirit-day shirts as orange shirts shortly after Phylis (Jack) Webstad shared her story at the St Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion help in Williams Lake in April 2013. Her story resonated with the community and it only made sense that our school (now Nusdeh Yoh) would wear orange every Wednesday… which ironically/iconically became one of the key dates for the first unofficial and official ‘orange shirt days’ which were held on the last Wednesday in September… which then became enshrined as September 30th, and then Truth and Reconciliation Day also got official notice on Sept 30th as well (interesting that Ontario schools remain open on T&R as well as Remembrance Day – two dates that are enshrined in BC as days to be away from formal learning in buildings.

By wearing an orange shirt on September 30th, you make a statement to support reconciliation and commit to the enduring truth that EVERY CHILD MATTERS. 

As educators, we pause not just to remember but to act. Every action matters.

We need to be proud and share that we work and learn (and live and play) on traditional lands. In my current case, on the traditional lands of the Tla’amin Nation – though I have travelled and worked throughout the province.

We need to continue to embed more of the First Peoples Principles of Learning into everything we do – they are good practices for all, not just some…

We need to be mindful that reconciliation is a practice, not a date – and our work is to keep weaving it into every lesson, every hallway, and every conversation until it is part of our mindset. 

Instagram short : https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPNFpbCgZIS/?igsh=MXg5ZHV1NTdoODYzbQ==

Video: https://youtu.be/lEl7Xt_d3pc