National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
For the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) commissions work from an Indigenous artist in Ontario to foster communal reflection on the day’s importance and themes. We believe that the arts are among the most powerful ways that we can learn from one another – about our personal and collective histories, our current realities, and our hopes and visions for the future. And we are committed to supporting and nurturing Ontario’s artists to do this critical work.
Title: Listen to your ancestors’ dreams / Sheiatahónhsatat ne shehsothókon raonatetshénseraArtist: Shelby Lisk (Kanyen’kehá:ka, from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory)
Photo assistant: Alyssa Bardy (Upper Cayuga from Six Nations of the Grand River & member of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte)
Model: Amari Asmar (Kanyen’kehá:ka from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory)
Artist statement
"Listen to your ancestors' dreams is a reminder to consider those who came before us and the dreams they have for us and our communities. For me, this resonates with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation because reconciliation means that everyone strives to create a country in which Indigenous people are able to live out their ancestors' dreams, dreams that many of our families had to bury in order to survive colonization and residential schools. It is up to the Canadian state and all Canadians to move aside and let Indigenous people and communities thrive and to provide support in order for Indigenous generations now and into the future to be what their ancestors dreamed: speaking our languages, practicing our cultures and ceremonies, eating our traditional foods, living in healthy ways, and in respectful relation with one another.
"Using a blanket hand sewn with text is a reference to how blankets are close familial objects, passed down between generations, often given as gifts to signify important life moments and rites of passage in many communities and a nod to the seamstresses and sewers that are in my matrilineal line. The idea and practice of dreaming evoked in the text reminds us that even if we weren't able to spend time with our ancestors or they were lost to our families or communities in the Sixties Scoop or residential school system, child-welfare system or justice system, they can continue to communicate with us and help us through our dreams."
— Shelby Lisk
OAC statement
In 2021, the Government of Canada designated September 30th as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. September 30th is also recognized as Orange Shirt Day – an Indigenous-led initiative to raise awareness of the individual, family and community intergenerational impacts of residential schools, and to remind all Canadians that every child matters.
The OAC recognizes this as a day of commemoration and mourning of the innocent First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children who were harmed and whose lives were lost at Canada’s residential schools and the healing journey of survivors and their families and communities. Acknowledging the history of Canada’s appalling treatment of Indigenous peoples and the ongoing effects of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
The OAC acknowledges that an ongoing and long-term commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous communities is necessary, and that this commitment must happen at a personal, professional and systemic level.
In support of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, OAC seeks to advance reconciliation through its granting programs for Indigenous artists and arts organizations and by expanding its ongoing relationships with Indigenous communities. The OAC affirms its commitment to Indigenous artists and communities in Ontario through programs and initiatives that specifically aim to support their creativity, collaboration and success.
Read more about OAC’s commitment to and support for Indigenous arts.