Today, September the 30th, 2021 is the first national day for truth and reconciliation here in Canada.

It's a day to reflect on an important aspect of Canada's dark legacy when First Nations,

Inuit and Maytee children were taken from their families and placed in government-sponsored schools

run by religious

organizations. If you're listening and you've been affected by the residential school system,

our deepest condolences to you and your family. Today is also a day to educate ourselves

and others about residential schools. And as someone with a podcast about Canadian

true crime, I bear part of the responsibility in helping to spread the message about what

today is about and its importance to this country that I now call home. Before I continue, I want to

emphasize how important it is to listen to indigenous voices.

So when it comes to who you follow on social media or whose content you consume,

I encourage you to diversify your feed.

A few years ago, I searched for indigenous people and activists to follow,

and so I've been able to understand their perspectives and learn from them every day

in an ongoing way, not just once a year. And for those of us who are not indigenous, we have to

remember that today is a difficult day for them, and it's not up to them to educate us. We all have

work to do to help spread the message about truth and reconciliation day and its importance.

And since I have your ear right now, here's a primer of what happened, and at the end I'll give

you some more resources where you can hear testimony and stories from survivors.

Trigger warning, this information involves the abuse of children and might be difficult for

some listeners to hear.

The Indian Residential Schools Program was implemented in the late 1800s as part of the Canadian

...