More than 500 radio stations will mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by broadcasting special programming across the country. Pure Country 106 and Bounce 104.1 are among the stations in our region that will be airing A Day to Listen on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) partnered with the Canadian radio stations that span different markets, regions and formats, to bring this specialty programming. With this year’s theme of Honouring Truth with Action, several Indigenous speakers from a variety of backgrounds will take to the airwaves to tell their stories. The speakers are Knowledge Keepers, educators, artists and changemakers. JUNO-award-winning Indigenous Canadian artist of Cree and Ojibwe descent William Prince will be your host. The singer-songwriter is known for creating lyrics centred on resilience, belonging and the shared human experience. He recently released his fifth album titled Further From the Country. “A Day to Listen leveraged the power of radio to inspire people throughout Canada to move reconciliation forward in meaningful ways,” the DWF states on its website. The DWF says its purpose is to inspire meaningful action in communities throughout the country. “Honouring truth means listening to the lived experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, acknowledging the lasting impacts of colonialism and the residential school system, and taking meaningful steps toward reconciliation,” the DWF says. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Secret Path, a multi-media project on by late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. Downie honoured Chanie Wenjack by telling a harrowing story of the young Indigenous boy trying to escape a residential school and died of hunger and exposure along the way. The first A Day to Listen was on June 30, 2021 after an announcement was made about 215 potential unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, is observed annually on Sept. 30 to honour residential school survivors, their families, their communities and the Indigenous children who never came home. The public can tune into any of the participating radio stations either on the dial or through online streaming.
