Remembering the Children Day
June 11 is recognized as Remembering the Children Day in honour of the Indigenous children of the Red Deer Industrial School and their descendants.
For more than a century, residential schools separated aboriginal children from their families and communities. Thousands of those children never returned home, and these actions have contributed to a legacy of trauma for First Nations, Métis, Inuit and non-indigenous people that requires healing, reconciliation and restoration. Today, and every day, we must remember the children.
Why this day is important
Over 150,000 Aboriginal children were separated from their families and communities by the Indian Residential School system, which contributed to a legacy of relationships between First Nations, Metis, Inuit and non-native people that requires healing, reconciliation and restoration across cultures and generations. The Red Deer Industrial School operated from 1893-1919 and had the highest mortality rate of any Indian Residential School in Canada.
June 11 marks the anniversary of the official apology of the Government of Canada to the children and descendants affected by Residential Schools throughout the country.
