[Ssphrfaculty] National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – 30 September

[Ian Milligan]

Dear colleagues,

I'm writing to share the attached memo from the Provost's office on commemorating the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on September 30th.

The spirit of the memo is straightforward: September 30th is a day to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, Survivors, their families, and communities. For many Indigenous students, faculty, and staff, it is a day connected to ceremony, grief, remembrance, and community obligations, not a symbolic date on the calendar.

In practical terms for all of us here in SSPHR, please support students, faculty, and staff who wish to participate in commemoration events on September 30th. As the memo notes, this means allowing our colleagues and students to absent themselves from classes, meetings, or work responsibilities without academic or employment consequences, and (where possible) avoiding scheduling tests, assignment deadlines, meetings, or other mandatory activities that day.

If any requests come your way, please approach them with flexibility, respect, and care. And I am always happy to discuss any questions or issues that might arise from this.

Many thanks,

Ian

Ian Milligan
Director, School of Social, Political, and Historical Research
Professor of History
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