National Day for Truth And Reconciliation

The East Gwillimbury Public Library, and the Town of East Gwillimbury recognizes and acknowledges the lands originally used and occupied by the First Peoples of the Williams Treaties First Nations and other Indigenous Peoples, and on behalf of the Mayor and Council, we would like to thank them for sharing this land. 

We would also like to acknowledge the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation as EG's closest First Nation community and recognize the unique relationship the Chippewas have with the lands and waters of this territory.  They are the water protectors and environmental stewards of these lands, and we join them in these responsibilities.

To recognize this important day of reflection and education the Library has prepared a series of resources, including reading lists, videos and crafts, which we hope will educate and support the process of reconciliation.

To see the full list of Town events, and how the Town of East Gwillimbury is recognizing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, visit their webpage here.

Books Available at EGPL

All of the below books have links in their titles that will take you directly to our online catalogue.

Picture Books

• When We Are Kind, by Monique Gray Smith (JP Smith)

• Nibi is Water, by Joanne Robertson (JP Rober)

• We Sang You Home, by Richard Van Camp (JP VanCa)

• Awasis and the World-Famous Bannock, by Dallas Hunt (JP Hunt)

• The Raven and the Loon, by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley (J 398.2089 Qitsu)

• The Girl and the Wolf, by Katherena Vermette (JP Verme)

• Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox, by Danielle Daniel (JP Daniel)

• Stand Like a Cedar, by Nicola I. Campbell (JP Campb)

History Books

• Treaty Words: For as Long as the Rivers Flow. By Aimee Craft (J 342.7108)

• Residential Schools: With the Words and Images of Survivors, by Larry Loyie (J 371.8299 Loy)

• The Kids Book of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, By Dianne Silvey (J 971.0049 Sil)

• Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, Young Readers Edition. By Anton Treuer. (J970.0049 TRE)

• What the Eagle Sees: Indigenous Stories of Rebellion and Renewal, by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger.

• Before Canada: First Nations and Contacts, Prehistory – 1523. (J 971.011 NEL)

• Wisdom from Our First Nations: A First Nations Book for Young Readers. By Kim Sigafus and Lyle Ernst. (J 970.0049 SIG)

• Indigenous Life in Canada, Past Present and Future: Treaties. By Simon Rose. (J 323.1197)

• Missing Nimama, by Melanie Florence (JP Flore)

• Four Faces of the Moon, by Amanda Strong (Y GN Stron)

Reads & Other Resources (Adults)

• Aboriginal Ontario: Historical Perspectives on the First Nations, edited by Edward S. Rogers and Donald B. Smith. (1994). Adult Non-Fiction, 971.300497 ABO

• Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future, compiled and edited by Drew Hayden Taylor. Adult Non-Fiction, 305.897 Me

• Goodbye Buffalo Bay, by Larry Loyie (971.23 Loyie)

• Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, A novel by Drew Hayden Taylor (YFIC Taylo)

• One Native Life, by Richard Wagamese (819.352 Wagam)

• Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising, by Brandi Morin (305.4489 Morin)

• Nishga, by Jordan Abel (305.8973 Abe)

• Anishnaabe World: A Survival Guide to Building Bridges between Canada and First Nations, by Roger Wilson Spielmann (971.00497333 Spi)

• Rez Rules: My Indictment of Canada’s and America’s Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples, by Clarence Louie (971.15 LOUIE)

• True North, Strong and Free: New Ways of Looking at Canada on the 150th Birthday of the Country, by Brian A. Brown (971 Bro)

• Aki-wayn-zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth, by Eli Baxter (305.8973 Baxte)

• The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy, by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson (305.897 Man)

Learning Resources

• orangeshirtday.org

• Government of Canada- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

• Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery by the Assembly of First Nations

• Indigenous Title and the Doctrine of Discovery by the Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples Blog

• Doctrine of Discovery, by the United-Church

• Reports from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba

• Resources from Reconciliation Canada

• NDTR Read and Watch Resources from Canadian Women's Foundation

Activity Based Resources

• orangeshirtday.org/resources

• Government of Canada printable resources

• Activities for Orange Shirt Day by BrainNinjas.ca

For Educators

• orangeshirtday.org/teacher-resources

• Truth and Reconciliation Week free educational program from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba

• Resources for learning and teaching about NDTR from LibGuides

• Reconciliation through Education from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, University of Manitoba

Videos

The library will be sharing two videos on September 30, 2022 on our Facebook Page featuring bestselling children’s authors and illustrators, Michael Hutchinson (author of the Mighty Muskrats Mystery series) and Jay Odjick (illustrator of Blackflies & Bear for Breakfast, written by Robert Munsch). These videos were made in partnership with the Libraries of Durham and York Region.

Additional video resources can be found below.

• Residential Schools in Canada by Historica Canada

• What is Reconciliation? by CBC Kids News

• Canadians have been breaking their promises to Indigenous peoples by CBC Docs

• Sen. Murray Sinclair: How can Canadians work toward reconciliation by CBC News

• Video Resources from Canadian Women's Foundation

Crafts

View an accessible PDF of these crafts here

To download all of these resources for printing, please click here.