“As Canada’s Premier Christian University we have a moral responsibility to be truthful, honest, caring, and just. A vital and positive relationship with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada includes both repentance for historical wrongs committed by our predecessors, and a commitment to walk well together in the future.”
— President Mark Husbands
In honour of Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Trinity Western University is announcing a campus-wide Community Day of Learning on September 30, to foster greater knowledge and understanding of Indigenous history and culture, and to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools.
“This day is an opportunity for the TWU community to come together, to learn together, and to walk together in a good way—learning of our shared history, living in truth and reconciliation by understanding contemporary injustices, and committing to work towards a future that honours God through respect and dignity for all peoples,” University Siya:m Patricia Victor said.
She continued, “Acknowledging that TWU is on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of Stó:ló people is one step towards walking together in a good way. Within Stó:ló community, there is a Halq’emeylem word: lets’emo:t, which conveys walking together with one heart, one mind, one purpose.”
President Mark Husbands remarked, “We have a vision that says we seek to equip every graduate to think truthfully, act justly and live faithfully for the good of the world and the glory of God.”
“We believe that God continues to guide people through his Word. As a ‘listening people’ we seek to hear and respond faithfully to the biblical call to justice (cf. Micah 6:8; Zehariah 7:9-10),” he said.
“As Canada’s Premier Christian University we have a moral responsibility to be truthful, honest, caring, and just. A vital and positive relationship with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada includes both repentance for historical wrongs committed by our predecessors, and a commitment to walk well together in the future.”
On September 30, 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Trinity Western will host a campus-wide Community Day of Learning, for the public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools.
“This day is an opportunity for the TWU community to come together, to learn together, and to walk together in a good way—learning of our shared history, living in truth and reconciliation by understanding contemporary injustices, and committing to work towards a future that honours God through respect and dignity for all peoples."
— University Siya:m Patricia Victor
This event is hosted in response to the Call to Action #80 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, which says:
“We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component.”
To provide students, staff and faculty the opportunity to participate in the Community Day of Learning, morning and afternoon classes on September 30, 2021 will be canceled. The day’s events will begin with Stó:ló protocol and ceremony, “Open the Circle for Truth Telling,” which will feature a panel of Indigenous speakers. Educational activities in the afternoon will include a Blanket Exercise, which is an interactive historical learning opportunity, followed by focus groups to study TRC Calls to Actions relating to Faith Communities (Actions 48 and 49), Church & Reconciliation (Actions 60-62), Education (Actions 6-12), and Health (Actions 18-24). Further discussions will focus on First Peoples Principles of Learning: knowledge and pedagogy application. Additionally, there will be presentations of research projects, which followed research methods from Indigenous ways of knowing and being, as well as an opportunity for artistic reflection on the Community Day of Learning.
A full event schedule with more details to follow.
In June 2021, the TWU Board of Governors approved a motion that formally acknowledges that land in the Township of Langley on which Trinity Western University resides is the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō, Kwantlen, and Katzie First Nations.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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