Truth and Reconciliation

Shaylene Lakey grew up in Vernon in foster care and continues to live here. (Contributed)

B.C. woman shares journey to reclaim Indigenous heritage after losing it in foster care

Shaylene Lakey may have found a safe place growing up, but felt robbed of her culture

Shaylene Lakey grew up in Vernon in foster care and continues to live here. (Contributed)
Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation lives in Williams Lake, B.C. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Orange Shirt Society founder hopeful for future of Indigenous families

B.C.’s Phyllis Webstad will be at Niagara Falls for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation lives in Williams Lake, B.C. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald addresses delegates at the conclusion of the AFN annual general meeting, in Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, July 7, 2022. The road to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada remains a long one, says Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who estimates it will take 40 years at the current pace to achieve the more than 90 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

National chief says Canada’s reconciliation actions taking long road; 40 years away

Archibald: ‘Progress toward addressing many of the calls to action remains slow’

Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald addresses delegates at the conclusion of the AFN annual general meeting, in Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, July 7, 2022. The road to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada remains a long one, says Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who estimates it will take 40 years at the current pace to achieve the more than 90 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Artist John Prevost at his home in Saanich. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

From residential school to prison, John Prevost has come a long way in his healing journey

Decades of addiction following Alert Bay residential school stay led Saanich artist to help others

Artist John Prevost at his home in Saanich. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
Sasha Perron is a survivor of intergenerational trauma. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

Next generation looks to take some of the burdens from residential school survivors

Greater Victoria’s Sasha Perron highlights survivors’ strength and resilience

Sasha Perron is a survivor of intergenerational trauma. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, middle, joins dancers during a visit to Bernard Constant Community School at James Smith Cree Nation, Sask., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Simon is to be among those speaking at a Truth and Reconciliation event in Regina today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

Governor General says education is key to reconciliation ahead of national holiday

Mary Simon says we have a shared responsibility to record and teach the true history of Canada

Governor General of Canada Mary Simon, middle, joins dancers during a visit to Bernard Constant Community School at James Smith Cree Nation, Sask., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Simon is to be among those speaking at a Truth and Reconciliation event in Regina today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu
Evelyn Voyageur is an Elder-In-Residence at North Island College Comox Valley campus. Photo courtesy NIC

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is much more than a holiday, says Comox Valley elder

Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Introduced to…

Evelyn Voyageur is an Elder-In-Residence at North Island College Comox Valley campus. Photo courtesy NIC
Students from Tammi Greenwood’s Grade 5/6 class at Haahuupayak School wave to drivers from the newly painted portion of the Orange Bridge (Riverbend Bridge) over the Somass River, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2002. (PHOTO COURTESY TAMMI GREENWOOD)

Port Alberni’s iconic ‘Orange Bridge’ turns orange again

Tseshaht First Nation hopes bright orange accents will change narrative of bridge

Students from Tammi Greenwood’s Grade 5/6 class at Haahuupayak School wave to drivers from the newly painted portion of the Orange Bridge (Riverbend Bridge) over the Somass River, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2002. (PHOTO COURTESY TAMMI GREENWOOD)
A totem at the top of the Malahat that had been vandalized has now been replaced. (Photo courtesy of City of Duncan)
A totem at the top of the Malahat that had been vandalized has now been replaced. (Photo courtesy of City of Duncan)
Students, community members, First Nation elders and residential school survivors gathered at Na’tsa’maht, an open-sided structure inspired by Coast Salish designs, located at Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus on Thursday, Sept. 29 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)

PHOTOS: Camosun College commemorates Orange Shirt Day

Students, community members gather to honour residential school survivors

Students, community members, First Nation elders and residential school survivors gathered at Na’tsa’maht, an open-sided structure inspired by Coast Salish designs, located at Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus on Thursday, Sept. 29 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)
Janet Hanuse (left) with her youngest child Elleanna Hunt. Through her healing journey, Hanuse has recognized the impacts intergenerational trauma has had on her family. (Photo by Nicole Crescenzi)

Breaking the cycle: How one Victoria woman’s healing journey is being passed to her children

Janet Hanuse talks about intergenerational trauma and how it’s impacted her family

  • Sep 29, 2022
Janet Hanuse (left) with her youngest child Elleanna Hunt. Through her healing journey, Hanuse has recognized the impacts intergenerational trauma has had on her family. (Photo by Nicole Crescenzi)
Students from Ruth King Elementary and Spencer Middle School gathered at Ruth King Thursday (Sept. 29) for an Orange Shirt Day ceremony as schools will be closed on Sept. 30. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)

PHOTOS: West Shore schools come together for Orange Shirt Day

Ruth King Elementary and Spencer Middle School gathered during the last day of classes for the week

Students from Ruth King Elementary and Spencer Middle School gathered at Ruth King Thursday (Sept. 29) for an Orange Shirt Day ceremony as schools will be closed on Sept. 30. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)
Justice Murray Sinclair, who was Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge, led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a senator, stands in the ballroom at Rideau Hall after being invested as a companion of the Order of Canada and receiving a Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), in Ottawa, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

TRC head questions why Catholic Church didn’t sell property to compensate victims

Murray Sinclair: Catholic entities released of their remaining financial obligations

Justice Murray Sinclair, who was Manitoba’s first Indigenous judge, led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and served as a senator, stands in the ballroom at Rideau Hall after being invested as a companion of the Order of Canada and receiving a Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division), in Ottawa, on Thursday, May 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Elder May Sam at her home in Tsartlip First Nation. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

Decades of silence: Elder May Sam shares the abuse she endured at a Duncan Indian day school

Beaten and humiliated, Sam never told her children or husband about her experiences

Elder May Sam at her home in Tsartlip First Nation. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
The orange flag flies in front of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria on Wednesday, Sept. 28. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)

Where you can participate this Orange Shirt Day in Greater Victoria

Several events will observe National Day for Truth and Renconciliation

The orange flag flies in front of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria on Wednesday, Sept. 28. (Austin Westphal/News Staff)
An exhibit from the third floor of B.C. Royal Museum is pictured in Victoria, Wednesday, December 29, 2021. The museum announced that it will be closing the third floor including parts of the First Peoples Gallery in an effort to decolonize the institution. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Canadian Museums Association recommends 10 ways to decolonize heritage sector

Report presents ways to give Indigenous Peoples authority over how they are represented

An exhibit from the third floor of B.C. Royal Museum is pictured in Victoria, Wednesday, December 29, 2021. The museum announced that it will be closing the third floor including parts of the First Peoples Gallery in an effort to decolonize the institution. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Elder Victor Underwood near his home on the Saanich Peninsula. “Every time we talk about residential schools it always opens all the pains I’ve been carrying,” he said. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

Having teeth pulled just one of elder’s painful memories of residential school

Tsawout’s Victor Underwood is a survivor of St. Mary’s Indian Residential School

Elder Victor Underwood near his home on the Saanich Peninsula. “Every time we talk about residential schools it always opens all the pains I’ve been carrying,” he said. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)
People take part in a march to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. While Canada prepares to honour the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the majority of provinces and territories have not followed the federal government’s decision to make it an official statutory holiday for its workers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

‘We shouldn’t have to push people’: Most provinces have not made Sept. 30 a stat

New Brunswick has joined PEI as the latest to declare Sept. 30 a provincial holiday

People take part in a march to mark the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. While Canada prepares to honour the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the majority of provinces and territories have not followed the federal government’s decision to make it an official statutory holiday for its workers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Gloria Morgan (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)

‘So much work to do’ to continue healing for North Okanagan residential school survivor

Each August, Indigenous children were rounded up and taken back to residential school

Gloria Morgan (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)
Hundreds of Chilliwack secondary students and teachers took part in their school’s Reconciliation Walk in 2019. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)

Truth and Reconciliation Day: Education should be the priority, says B.C. Indigenous leader

Between 1831 and 1998, more than 150,000 children were thrust into Indian Residential Schools

Hundreds of Chilliwack secondary students and teachers took part in their school’s Reconciliation Walk in 2019. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress)