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Dufferin County marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with Community Conversations event

October 1, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Dufferin County residents gathered in Shelburne to reflect on Canada’s colonial history and the continuing work of reconciliation through traditional music and the personal story of one northern Ontario Cree family.

The county hosted its latest Community Conversations event at Grace Tipling Hall on Sept. 24 in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, observed annually across Canada on Sept. 30.

The evening featured Jennifer David, a member of Chapleau Cree First Nation, who presented 13 Square Miles: My Cree Ancestors and How Colonization Still Shapes My Life — and Yours. The Indigenous Cedar Drummers group also performed traditional music before and following David’s presentation.

David used five generations of her own family history to examine the fur trade, construction of the railway, Treaty 9, the Indian Act and the century-long struggle of Chapleau Cree First Nation to receive land promised under the treaty.

“I’m not here to make anyone feel guilty about the past, something that you and your ancestors had nothing to do with,” David said. “But how have you, and how have we collectively benefited from colonization? That’s the uncomfortable question. That’s the truth we must all face, and truth comes before reconciliation.”

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours Indigenous children who never returned home from residential schools, survivors and their families and communities, while recognizing the lasting impacts of the residential school system.

Sept. 30 is also Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the intergenerational impacts of residential schools and promote the message that “Every Child Matters.”

While residential schools are an important part of that history, David’s presentation explored reconciliation through the wider history of colonization and its continuing effects on Indigenous communities.

Under Treaty 9, Chapleau Cree First Nation should have received close to 13 square miles of reserve land based on its population. Instead, the community received 267 acres, including approximately 90 acres of swamp.

“We never forgot, though, that we were owed land, and though it would be dormant for a generation, we knew there would come a time when we’d get our land back,” David said.

David also detailed how the Indian Act affected generations of her family, including provisions that historically stripped some Indigenous women of status when they married non-status men. Following legislative changes in 1985, her father spent approximately a decade researching his family history and corresponding with archives and government departments before regaining his status in 1995.

Chapleau Cree eventually established a new reserve in the early 1990s. The First Nation continued pursuing its outstanding treaty land entitlement until a settlement was reached in 2016, providing 9,884 acres and monetary compensation.

David connected that history directly to Dufferin County, encouraging residents to learn about Treaties 18 and 19 and consider their own responsibilities within the treaty relationship. She emphasized that reconciliation requires continued learning and action beyond commemorative events held each September.

“Reconciliation is not an annual emotion,” David said. “Maybe it’s a book by an Indigenous author that you read and pass on. Maybe it’s the Indigenous caterer you hire for your next work function. Maybe it’s countering the stereotypes that your uncle tries to repeat at Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe it’s doing your homework instead of putting the burden on one of your Indigenous colleagues.”

With the Cedar Drummers returning to perform traditional music following the presentation, the evening concluded with David asking those in attendance to consider reconciliation not simply as looking backward, but as something that must be actively built in everyday life.

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