On September 30, the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages will join millions of Canadians as we reflect on the importance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages honours the families of the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools.
We respect the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Honourable Murray Sinclair, Chief Wilton Littlechild, and Dr. Marie Wilson, and their recommendations to Canada that led to the creation of the Indigenous Languages Act, passed in Parliament in 2019, and for the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner of Ingenuous Languages in July 2021.
Indigenous languages are fundamental to the identities, cultures, spirituality, relationship to the land, world views, and self-determination of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples.
We honour those whose memory we hold close as we work to revitalize, reclaim, strengthen, and maintain Indigenous languages.