The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established after the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement as a means to facilitate recognition among former students, their families, their communities and all Canadians (Government of Canada, 2019). Over the course of 6 years, the TRC traveled across Canada to bear witness to the testimony of Indian Residential School survivors and published a final report that included 94 Calls to Action. Calls to Action 62- 65 seek education for reconciliation and call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal people and educators, to:

i. Make age appropriate curriculum on residential school, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for K-12 student.

ii. Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms.

iii. Provide the necessary funding to Aboriginal schools to utilize Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods in classrooms.

iv. Establish senior-level positions in government at the assistant deputy minister level or higher dedicated to Aboriginal content in education (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015).

So what can YOU do?

Knowledge is power.

Simply knowing about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is powerful. Understanding why it exists is also essential. Do your students know about residential schools and their legacy in Canadian history?

Residential School Heritage Minute: Click the image to view the above video.

Below are some resources on residential schools that you can use in the classroom to create awareness, spark discussion and inspire change:

We are the Children: Teacher kits, books and memoirs.

Indian Residential Schools and Reconciliation Resources from the First Nations Education Steering Committee.

How teachers can integrate Truth and Reconciliation in their classrooms, articles and resources from EdCan Network.

Secret Path, The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF).
Inspired by Chanie’s story and Gord’s call to build a better Canada, the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund aims to build cultural understanding and create a path toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation by Monique Gray-Smith

Senator Murray Sinclair has created the #Next150Challenge – read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and to share one of the calls that has significance for you/your students. Each week a new challenge is launched and include detailed information on how to complete the challenge, length of activity and additional resources. For more information see the Ottawa public Library, click here. 

Other Topics and Resources

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) 

• Their Voices Will Guide Us: Student and Youth Engagement Guide from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 
• CBC Interactive Archives of MMIWG.
• Honoring Indigenous Women, Girls and Gender Diverse People from the Native Women’s Association of Canada.
• No More Stolen Sisters from Amnesty International
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls University of British Columbia Library Resources.
• Canada’s Missing Aboriginal Women vidoe, from The Agenda.
• How do we stop Aboriginal women from disappearing? video, from Ted x Calgary.
• The Highway of Tears video, from Vice.
• Finding Dawn, NFB Film.
• Kwe: Standing with Our Sisters, book edited by Joseph Boyden

Indigenous Literature for Teens

• If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
• Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith
• The Moons Speak Cree: A Winter Adventure by Larry Loyie & Constance Brissenden
• Lightfinder by Aaron Paquette
• All The Way: My Life On Ice by Jordan Tootoo
• The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
• Cold Skies by Thomas King
• Those Who Run in the Sky By Aviaq Johnston
• #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women Edited by Lisa Charleyboy & Mary Beth Leatherdale

Indigenous perspective resources:

• Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide from Historica Canada.
• Learning First Peoples Classroom Resources from First Nations Education Steering Committee.
• The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King.

Links updated: February 3, 2026