Orange Shirt Day Knowledge Self-Assessment

“Realize that we as human beings have been put on this earth for only a short time and that we must use this time to gain wisdom, knowledge, respect and the understanding for all human beings since we are all relatives.”
- Cree Proverb

 

 

In support of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (or Orange Shirt Day), this knowledge self-assessment was created to support greater learning about the Residential School system and its lasting impacts on Indigenous communities. 

 

Our goal for this self-assessment is to encourage personal reflection, awareness and education. There is no shame in not knowing the answers - this is meant to educate and inform. If you wish to learn more about the topic, there are links provided throughout and additional resources at the end. Also, feel free to share this self-assessment with colleagues and friends.

 

To encourage engagement with this knowledge self-assessment and to support further learning, those who complete it will have their names put in a draw for the 2021 book Call me Indian: From the trauma of residential school to becoming the NHL's first Treaty Indigenous player by Fred Sasakamoose.

 

The book is also available at the McGill Library.

 

And available online at multiple Indigenous-owned booksellers:

 

• Strong Nations Publishing: https://bit.ly/2Xlp6AK 

• Good Minds: https://bit.ly/3hDrqu9 

• Massy Books: https://bit.ly/2XjR8Nc 

 

Please note that the information you provide below will be kept confidential, as we will only be using it for purpose of the book draw. Please note that this book draw is optional.

Content warning: This knowledge self-assessment deals with distressing content regarding the impacts of residential schools. Click here for resources for support.

 

 

In commemoration of Orange Shirt Day on September 30, this tool was developed with the purpose of self-assessing your knowledge of and providing resources for more information on the history of residential schools in order to support greater awareness and learning of our history. The Residential School System was designed and run by the Canadian governnment and multiple churches, and was a cultural genocide against Indigenous peoples, that contributed to the death and abuse of many thousands of children. The legacy of the Residential School System has a lasting impact on Survivors and Indigenous communities today.

 

September 30 marks the time of the year when Indigenous children were taken away from their families and placed in these schools, where they were forcibly disconnected from their culture and many endured extreme abuse. 

4. Located on Treaty 1 territories, on original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is "a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations". In which city is the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation located?

5. The Residential School system in Canada was in place for over 150 years. During this time, approximately 150,000 Indigenous children attended the residential schools, of which an estimated 6,000 children died, never to return to their families. When was the last residential school closed in Canada?