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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 | A17
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. nvcl.ca
10 a.m. – 6 p.m. nvdpl.ca
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. wvml.ca
A18 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
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NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Orange Shirt Day is a time for healing through culture JUSTIN SKY GEORGE
Contributing writer
When I think of Orange Shirt Day, I think of our səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) Elders, our Ancestors.
My father was only five years young when he was taken to residential school. We know the dark history of the mental, physical, and emotional abuse that took place at residential schools. Many children never made it home. We are Tsleil-Waututh, People of the Inlet, and we have a deep-rooted connection to what is called Burrard Inlet today. In my late grandfather Chief Dan George’s soliloquy, he illustrated how we went from managing abundance to isolation on our small reserve – our land, our deer, salmon, clams, and entire economies have been lost. Our Elders have a saying: “When the tide went out, the table was set.” Today, the Inlet is no longer healthy, but our culture was never lost. We are taking our rightful place as equals, bringing our values in to all we do and honouring the resilience of our Ancestors and Elders today. This ties to Orange Shirt Day as even
Tsleil-Waututh Nation elected chief Justin Sky George wears an orange shirt to honour residential school survivors and those who lost their lives due to the oppressive system. TSLEIL-WAUTUTH NATION though they endured the harshest abuse, our Elders are standing up, sharing the hard truths. This day is about us acknowledging their strength and creating a legacy of healing and growth for the next generations. Our community events support our Survivors, Elders, and all members in their healing journey. On Sept. 17, in partnership
Recognizing the
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
with the Orange Shirt Society, we unveiled our wonderful new orange Every Child Matters crosswalk by səlilwətaɬ artist Candace Thomas and welcomed special guest Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day. I commend Phyllis, a Survivor, for taking this lead role from a space of strength for all our First Nations people who endured residential schools. On Sept. 30, we are hosting a private Walking with Family and Friends from Wheyah-Wichen (Cates Park) to our community to honour our Survivors and to create space for our members to heal from intergenerational trauma. As Tsleil-Waututh Nation, we’re blessed to have strong Elders and Ancestors who made it better for us. They had the ability to carry forward teachings, laws and beliefs within our səlilwətaɬ culture, despite the pain. I didn’t hear stories of residential schools growing up, but we felt the impacts in different ways. To understand that today is to understand the love our Elders were giving us. As Tsleil-Waututh People, we’re a culture defined by love, family and connections to
the land and water. Within our ceremonies, there’s amazing healing. Our culture is about uplifting one another, honouring what our Elders have taught us. Everyone has gifts and we are no better than or less than one another. Today in our community, our young people are being empowered through drumming and singing, being in ceremony, learning hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ language, how to weave, how to harvest foods and medicines, and following the practices of our Ancestors. Culture is the heart of healing for our People. For our surrounding community, we welcome the opportunity to engage more with us to create better understanding. In the context of a canoe, we need many paddlers. No matter what race you are or what colour you are, we laugh and cry about the same things, as we are all human beings. Join with us, whether that’s participating in or supporting our public events, partnering with us on a project, or donating to our Tsleil-Waututh Nation Residential School Survivors Fund. Continued on A23
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation we will be flying the Survivors Flag at District Hall and lighting the Hall up orange from September 23-30. The District is dedicated to fostering reconciliation and building stronger relationships with local First Nations, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. District staff are committed to listening and understanding the intergenerational legacy of the residential school system on First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities by participating in learning opportunities offered ahead of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
Learn more: DNV.org/our-journey-towards-reconciliation
©Andy Everson
September 30 A message from the North and West Vancouver Teachers’ Associations
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 | A19
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Tsleil-Waututh Nation unveils ‘Every Child Matters’ crosswalk ABBY LUCIANO
aluciano@nsnews.com Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A new crosswalk in North Vancouver is honouring residential school survivors and offering a memorial for the people who never made it home.
The səlilwətaɬ (TsleilWaututh Nation) unveiled the “Every Child Matters” crosswalk in a ceremony, Sept. 17 – now one of eight Candace Thomas (left), Phyllis Webstad and three children across Canada as part of hold hands and walk together in celebration of the Every Child Matters crosswalk opening at Tsleil-Waututh Nation the Orange Shirt Society’s Wednesday. ABBY LUCIANO / NSN Every Child Matters Crosswalk Project. “Each of these crosswalks is a vivid brings us together so we can have reminder of children being honoured, conversation and ceremony and never the survivors being believed, and our forget what happened in those so-called shared brought [journey towards] truth, schools.” reconciliation and hope,” said MC Gabriel Wednesday’s ceremony reflected George, knowledge keeper and director heavily on the lasting impacts of residenof the Culture, Language and Protocol tial schools, as many people shared their Department at Tsleil-Waututh Nation. experiences and the healing journeys Alongside the nation, the Orange Shirt moving forward. Society, the District of North Vancouver “I raise my hand to all our elders and and the North Shore Community ancestors that endured residential school Foundation partnered together to make – mentally, physically, emotionally,” said the crosswalk possible. elected chief Justin Sky George during the The crosswalk that now sits on Sleilceremony. “We know the [struggles] that Waututh Road off Dollarton Highway was were put upon [you], but they couldn’t created by Tsleil-Waututh artist Candace break the spirit, and you see that today in Thomas. The crosswalk’s design features our elders.” a black thunderbird holding a baby who is George said the crosswalk is a true gift reaching out to their mama. The artwork is to the Tsleil-Waututh community, honourdisplayed on an orange background with a ing residential and day school survivors white border. while also sending a message. Thomas said the baby’s face symbol“[It] sends a clear message to the external community and allies that we welcome izes the children who never made it home, and the thunderbird represents part of her them to walk with us on this journey of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) lineage through reconciliation,” George said in a media release from the nation. her great grandmother. District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike “I love it, I’m thankful that it turned out Little said the crosswalk is a powerful symthe way it did [and] that it’s lasting the bol of resiliency and a vital step towards way it is,” Thomas said. reconciliation. Thomas said she’s also thankful to “I am grateful we have had the opporreceive recognition from Phyllis Webstad, tunity to work alongside Tsleil-Waututh the CEO and co-founder of Orange Shirt Nation and the Orange Shirt Society in creDay, who was also a special guest at ating a vivid reminder of past generations Wednesday’s ceremony. and learning their truths,” Little said. Webstad said the crosswalk project Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic continues the conversation of what hapaffairs reporter for the North Shore News. pened in residential schools. This reporting beat is made possible by the “We can never forget what happened,” Local Journalism Initiative. Webstad said. “The crosswalk program
“On the North Shore and right across Turtle Island, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation calls us to reflect on the legacy of residential schools and honour Indigenous Survivors. Let us commit ourselves to truth, justice, and reconciliation— today and every day.”
JONATHAN WILKINSON FEDERAL MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT NORTH VANCOUVER-CAPILANO @JonathanWNV
A20 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
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NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Check out these truth & rec events across the North Shore of the Squamish language storytime kits, sessions about Coast Salish weaving with Squamish Nation hereditary chief Janice George, and Lisa Lewis teaching traditional Squamish songs and crafts, and movie screenings of Indigenous-produced films. More information can be found on the library’s website.
ABBY LUCIANO
aluciano@nsnews.com Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Every year since 2021, the last day of September marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The national day honours the children who lost their lives from residential schools and lifts up the survivors as well as their families and communities. Across both North Vancouver and West Van, there are tons of events taking place on Sept. 30 and in the days leading up to it. Here is a rundown of what’s happening to mark Truth and Reconciliation day on the North Shore. The Legacy of the Salish Woolly Dog Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) ethnobotanist and cultural educator Senaqwilia Wyss will be holding a presentation that draws upon intergenerational knowledge about the Salish Woolly Dog, a sacred Coast Salish dog breed that became extincted due to colonization practices and policies. Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10:30 a.m. to
Members of the public gathered with municipal staff and elders from the Squamish Nation to honour residential school survivors with a raising of the Survivors’ Flag at West Vancouver municipal hall on Friday, Sept. 23, 2023. DWV 12:30 p.m. at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre. The cost is by donation with a suggested minimum of $10 per group. Educational events at the West Vancouver Memorial Library Leading up to Sept. 30, the West Van library is offering events like the launch
Films, workshops and Indigenous history series at North Vancouver City Library The North Vancouver City Library is screening SUGARCANE, a documentary set “amidst a ground-breaking investigation into abuse and death at an Indian residential school.” The film empowers people to break cycles of inter-generational trauma. Guests under 17 require an accompanying parent or adult guardian as the film is rated R. The library is also holding a fish leather wallet workshop and an Indigenous history and culture series offering an introduction to the North Shore host nations and truth and reconciliation. More information on the events can be found on the NVCL’s website.
Every Childour Matters Honouring Neighbours the Tsleil-Waututh and Honouring Truth and Squamish Peoples Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation Day at MONOVA On Sept. 30, the Museum and Archives of North Vancouver (MONOVA) is commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with education and activities for visitors. Led by MONOVA’s Indigenous cultural programmers Jordan Dawson and Tsawaysia Spukwus, people will have the chance to learn about the significance of Orange Shirt Day, the history of Indigenous rights and experience Coast Salish culture including storytelling, drumming and singing. There will also be orange rock decorating, keychain making and a scavenger hunt for guests to take part in. Alongside the special programming, the museum will also have a guided tour of their galleries in recognition of the day. The event will take place on Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is paywhat-you-can, and people can sign up on Eventbrite. Visit nsnews.com for more National Day For Truth and Reconciliation events.
On this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we pause to On Truth Reconciliation Day,school and as part of the honour theand strength of residential survivors, remember ongoing of reconciliation, pause recognize those whojourney never returned home, andwe stand withtotheir families. and honour residential school survivors, thoseknowledge who were Neptune Terminals acknowledges the traditional
lost,stewardship and their families. and of the Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Peoples. We are proud to operate on their traditional territories and are Neptune Terminals theoftraditional knowledge committed to walkingvalues the path reconciliation with respect and humility. of the Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish Peoples, and their stewardship September 30 of the lands and waters. We are proud to National Day fortheir Truthtraditional and Reconciliation operate within territories.
neptuneterminals.com
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 | A21
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Let’s weave our stories together on this day of learning CHIEF JANICE GEORGE
Contributing writer
There have been many interruptions in Indigenous language and culture since Captain Vancouver sailed into our territory.
We have worked for more than 20 years at reintroducing Coast Salish wool weaving to our community and other Nations and Tribes. It has been an emotional and spiritual process. To begin teaching, we share the teachings that elders have passed to us, of how we prepare mentally, physically and spiritually to create weavings. The weavings are not purely esthetic. They are not purely for physical warmth from the elements. They are also protection against unkind energy, or perhaps jealousy or disagreement. Through our ceremonies we are taught that a weaver‘s job is to create this protection to bring good energy as well as beautiful esthetics in the robes. We are open to sharing these
teachings with the public and are happy that universities, high schools, public schools and private schools are interested in learning about Coast Salish weaving as well as other culture practices such as building canoes and carving figures. It’s in the songs, it’s in the language. When we talk about gathering materials and gathering dyes for the beautiful colours in the weavings, how our ancestors did this, we think about the environment we share. We know the land that we live on, the territory that has been ours since the beginning of time. Sharing this helps us have a connection to this land. All of us, not just the Indigenous people who have intimate knowledge of the land, know the stories have connections. It’s important to share these connections, so everyone can feel that everyone can understand that the ancestor’s prayers are still with the land, and how much we appreciate what our ancestors have done for us. If we can
all work together to take care of this beautiful place, this beautiful territory that we live in, we can all take care of it in a better way. Museums, galleries and libraries have shown much support for gathering this knowledge again, but also to disseminate this information through exhibits, through talks, through presentations, through research. We have been gathering and weaving our information to present it in a way that helps people understand that we have this knowledge, we have a world view and voice to tell the story. Our Nation population went down to 200 people, and is now over 4,000 strong. It’s a story of the strength of a few people to carry through the keyhole of disease, legislated poverty and residential schools, holding on to the language and culture that we cherish and respect. Culture saves lives and I am thankful for the strength and love of our ancestors to save mine. Chief Janice George is a Squamish Nation hereditary chief.
Squamish Nation Chief Janice George is featured in an exhibition at the West Van Art Museum highlighting Coast Salish weaving. PAUL MCGRATH / NSN
CHIEF DR. JANICE GEORGE in Conversation with Curator Pantea Haghighi
Friday, September 26 7 – 8:30 p.m., Main Hall Learn about the living practice of traditional weaving from Coast Salish weaver and educator Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Dr. Janice George. Her exhibit, Continuing the Ceremony: Chief Dr. Janice George and Students, is on view at the West Vancouver Art Museum through October 4.
Register for free at wvml.ca/events
1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 604.925.7400 | westvanlibrary.ca
NATIO O ONAL DAY F FOR ND TRUTH AN N RECONCIILIATION I On this i National i Day for Truth and Reconciiliation, we honour survivors member the children you and rem came home. The legacy of never c residential schools and the impacts resident p of colonialism remain with u us today. True reconciliation begin ns with listening, learning, and walkkin ng th his path together every day.
Patrick k Weiler
Member of Parliament
West Vancouver-Sunshine CoastSea to Sky Country
6367 Bruce Street West Vancouver, BC V7W 2G5 Tel. 604-913-2664 Patrick.Weiler@parl.gc.ca PatrickWeiler.libparl.ca PatrickBWeiler
A22 | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025
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NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Language revitalization improving physical and mental health ABBY LUCIANO
aluciano@nsnews.com Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Speaking Indigenous languages is helping protect culture. It might also improve mental and physical health.
That is what University of British Columbia researchers are linking to in a recent review. “I was really happy to see validation in something that we already knew was true,” said Karleen Delaurier-Lyle, the study’s co-author and librarian at UBC’s X̱wi7x̱wa Library. “I was just excited because I knew that it would likely benefit a lot of folks that are doing this important revitalization work.” Researchers from UBC led the review with help from the University of Toronto and the University of Sydney looking at 262 academic and community resources. From those sources, researchers found about 78
Students, parents and teachers are all smiles learning the Squamish language in the Ta Tsíptspi7lhḵn Language Nest in the Squamish Nation. PHOTO COURTESY OF KAIYA WILLIAMS
per cent of studies showed a positive connection between speaking Indigenous languages and improved health outcomes like mental health, better education performance, greater social connections and lower suicide rates in some cases.
“I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of research that we found,” said co-author and linguistics PhD student Julia Schillo. “There are one or two papers that I see cited all the time, and I wasn’t actually sure how much published research there would
be beyond that.” Based on researchers’ findings, the review also calls for recommendations including community-based language revitalization work, health care, curriculum in post-secondary and further research on the topic. The research team hopes the recent review can be used to advocate for more funding in language revitalization programs, said Schillo. “Language revitalization is a good thing to invest in for a number of reasons, including community health, and also to hopefully make a case for longer-term funding,” she said. “In order to have effective language revitalization and effective language learning, there needs to be continued long-term classes and support systems in place.” (S7atsáliya) Charlene George, a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim (Squamish language) speaker who
is a language co-ordinator at the Sníchim Foundation, relates to the review’s findings, as speaking the language has improved her life both physically and mentally. “It’s probably saved my life in the sense of giving me a healthy pathway to walk down,” George said, who is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). “It’s really straightened out a lot of my life for me.” While George wasn’t part of the study, she said learning the language helped her keep her sobriety but also kept her grounded, especially after losing her great grandmother in 2017. Her great grandmother was the one who encouraged her to learn the language, George said. “I felt like I could connect to her on a deeper, spiritual level, because I could pray in the Continued on A23
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2025 | A23
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Language nest nurtures future leaders Continued from A22 language now,” George said. The review found in many cases, the act of language learning was a part of healing, with several studies showing that learning or teaching Indigenous languages helps people recover from trauma, including the impacts of colonization and residential schools. The Sníchim Foundation is a Vancouver-based non-profit group that has been delivering language and cultural immersion programming since 2015. George has been teaching the Squamish language for nearly eight years through the foundation’s Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim Proficiency Diploma Program connected through Simon Fraser University, a program she was a student in nine years ago. Now George spends a lot of her time around the language for her job as a teacher, something that she is grateful for. “We’re really focused on getting to be conversational and we really get to know [students] on a personal level because of the amount of time we spend with them,” George said. “We always mention the benefits that learning the language has on mental and spiritual health.”
first-language speakers. “It’s important to get them at the youngest age. They’re like sponges, everything you say they copy, and we’ve witnessed it so many times,” Williams said. “It’s so important because it’s a lot of the opportunities that we didn’t get.” Bringing the language back has been quite a journey the Squamish people, Williams said. “More people are comfortable now because not that long ago, our ancestors were forbidden to speak, so we
grew up thinking we had to be careful, or growing up feeling ashamed,” she said. “To know that it’s flipped over now, and everyone feels proud and wants to learn ... that’s why it feels like we’re at home [at the nest].” Williams said it’s becoming more natural for people to converse in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim, which a big win. “I think that’s a huge milestone for our people, that we’re growing together and moving forward in beautiful ways that our ancestors always wanted us to,” she said. “As long as we keep gravitating towards families who want to come, be dedicated and share that same passion that we have for our language, then we’re winning.”
NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Looking ahead In 2010 there were fewer than 10 Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim speakers, with the language at risk of going extinct. Since then, that number has grown to 349 Squamish language speakers, according to a BC First Nations language report from 2022. With more active language learners, babies and toddlers are getting a head start learning Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim. On the Squamish Nation lies the Ta Tsíptspi7lhḵn Language Nest, a program where little ones up to age three learn the language alongside their families. Ta Tsíptspi7lhḵn, which translates to “voices of the nest,” began operating in the Capilano Little Ones School in 2019 before getting a permanent home in February 2024. Currently there are eight families taking part in the program, where teachers speak the language in a home-like environment. Language Nest teachers Kaiya Williams and Cherie McFadyen said learning the language at an early age not only helps people grasp it better, but is paving the way for more
Let’s all come together Continued from A18 Orange shirts are a reminder of the past hurt and ongoing suffering across Turtle Island, but also an acknowledgement of where we are today. In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, it’s an opportunity for us to come together in our collective strength and hold space for everyone to see their own gifts, to see where they belong. Justin Sky George is a Tsleil-Waututh Nation member and the elected chief of səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). Learn more about supporting Tsleil-Waututh Nation Survivors via the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Residential School Survivors Fund: twnation.ca/how-to-supporttwn/ The National Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24/7 for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of residential school experiences: 1-866- 925-4419.
We reflect and remember. We are committed to truth and reconciliation with our actions and our words. We learn together.