Winnipeg /Toronto, 21 June 2021 — A new social media campaign is launching on June 29 to raise awareness of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Daily, the #94in94 campaign will highlight each of the 94 Calls to Action in as many days, encouraging people across Turtle Island to take action in a variety of ways. The campaign will conclude on September 30 in honour of Orange Shirt Day and the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, commemorating the tragic legacy of residential schools in Canada.
During the 94 days, people will be asked to choose at least one Call to Action and post stories of how they have responded using the #94in94 hashtag. Social media posts will include links to resources that help educate and raise awareness of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Special guests will be invited to answer common questions related to the 94 calls and these video interviews will be shared online. The #94in94 campaign was created through a collaboration between Reconciliation Thunder and Circles for Reconciliation. They describe the purpose of the project as:
• addressing the fact that there are still so many Canadians who have not read the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action (6 years later)
• urging individuals to choose at least one Call to Action to act on • encouraging community leaders to organize their own activities in tandem with these 94 days
• centering the work of the TRC in conversations about the recent discoveries of the remains of Indigenous children.
Resources are provided online via the Reconciliation Thunder website (Reconciliationthunder.org), the Circles for Reconciliation website (circlesforreconciliation.ca) and on both organizations’ social media channels.
Reconciliation Thunder is a non-profit established to educate and empower corporate, government, and community leaders to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, address institutional racism, and create long-term change. Jimmy Thunder, Board Chair of Reconciliation Thunder, says, “This campaign was inspired by the recent discoveries in Kamloops and Brandon. As Canadians ask what they can do in response to these discoveries, let’s take this opportunity to work together to ensure every single Canadian has read the 94 Calls to Action.”
Raymond Currie, Project Coordinator of Circles for Reconciliation, reminds us that the TRC final report states:
“Reconciliation cannot be left up to governments, the courts, and churches alone. There must be dialogue and action in communities across the country. Reconciliation must happen across all sectors of Canadian Society.” (TRC Final Report, pg. 306). The aim of Circles for Reconciliation is to establish trusting, meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples as part of the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These Circles nurture dialogue, on issues outlined in the TRC report, between five Indigenous and five-non-Indigenous people led by two trained facilitators on a weekly basis for ten weeks.
In the words of the Honourable Murray Sinclair: “…I stand before you hopeful that we are at the threshold of a new era — a point of fundamental change in Canada’s story…a period of change that, if sustained by the will of the people, will forever realign the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.”
