Today is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a time to recognize the atrocities committed against the Indigenous peoples of this country in the residential school system and honour those who survived.

Originally known as Orange Shirt Day, which comes from Phyllis Webstad’s experience at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia where her clothes were taken from her, including an orange shirt from her grandmother, it became nationally recognized in 2021 following the discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential school sites.

Many of the stories from elders about their experiences in residential schools echo the stories of Jews who survived the Holocaust and other displacements and pogroms across the world.

Daniel Pujdak, Chief Strategy Officer at Blackbird Strategies and former policy director at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, got involved in working with Canada’s Indigenous community partially based on his own experiences growing up in New York’s Jewish community . He also serves as Vice Chair of the Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge Board.

“I found that there were many parallels in wanting to build community and build a strong culture,” said Pujdak. “I thought about what it was like growing up in the Jewish community and as an American having civil rights conversations around me and found myself increasingly drawn to see what I could do to help.”

As an outsider from Canadian politics, Pujdak felt he would be able to provide new perspectives on policy making as it pertained to Indigenous issues.

“I started working with First Nations in 2010, and I worked for the Assembly of First Nations,” he said. “I went on to work for the Chiefs of Ontario, which is an advocacy organization for all the First Nations in Ontario.”

Following this, he worked for the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, after which he began working at Blackbird Strategies, a public affairs firm that works largely with Indigenous groups.

Jewish Canadians and Indigenous peoples share many parallels, from values and language preservation to intergenerational traumas. 

“Because of the similarities in history, I think finding empathy and understanding can be a lot easier,” said Pujdak. “There is an interesting dynamic where Canada is a beacon of hope and freedom for so many people … yet that history comes hand in hand with the reality that Canada stands for the opposite for many Indigenous peoples.”

Jews and Indigenous people have interacted not only in Canada, but also overseas during times of conflict.

“I will always recall hearing stories about First Nation soldiers who served in the Second World War and who helped in the liberation of concentration camps and the stories that came back from there,” said Pujdak.

In a time when conflict and tension are across the world, it can sometimes be hard for people to challenge themselves to think about more than one cause. As Truth and Reconciliation takes continuous effort, there are plenty of educational opportunities for people to learn about this issue.

Some Jewish organizations in Ottawa also marked the day. Temple Israel held a “Reconciliation Shabbat” last Saturday, during which Shabbat liturgy was interspersed with quotes from the Mishnah, present day rabbis, and indigenous voices.

Organized by the synagogue’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, the theme of the service was that all human beings are connected to each other, invoking the Hasidic belief that human beings are tied together with a rope. 

“In a free society, some are guilty, and all are responsible,” said Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg, quoting Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a rabbi active during the American Civil Rights Movement and one of the foremost Jewish theologians of the 20th century. 

Not everyone had a direct hand in the residential school system. The same is true for the Sixties Scoop, when thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their families by child welfare authorities. But these and other atrocities against Indigenous peoples are part of our shared history. As Canadians, we all have a responsibility to learn the truth of what happened and to work together for a better future. 

“Each of our voices make a difference, each of our voices can be lent to the words of healing,” said Rabbi Mikelberg.

To learn more about Truth and Reconciliation Day and how you can start learning, click here.