09/29/2026
September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
Here in our region, residential schools are not a distant part of Canadian history. MacKay Indian Residential School operated beside Opaskwayak Cree Nation from the mid-1910s until it was destroyed by fire in 1933. Guy Hill Indian Residential School operated in The Pas and later at Clearwater Lake from 1952 until 1979.
Indigenous children were taken from their families, communities, languages, cultures and traditional ways of life. Survivors, families and communities continue to carry the consequences of that system today.
Nisokapawino Forestry Management Corporation honours the Survivors, remembers the children who never returned home and stands with the families and communities continuing the work of truth, healing and justice.
For an organization whose work affects forests, lands and Indigenous communities, reconciliation must be reflected in how we operate. It means listening before decisions are made, respecting Indigenous rights and knowledge, supporting meaningful community participation and building relationships based on honesty, respect and accountability.
Today we wear orange. Throughout the year, our responsibility is to keep listening, learning and putting reconciliation into practice.
Every Child Matters.
Learn more about the history and legacy of residential schools through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation:
https://nctr.ca/education/residential-school-history/
The National Residential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.
