Take home this Official First Day Cover (OFDC) from the Truth and Reconciliation stamp issue from Canada Post.

Good to know

Official First Day Cover, cancelled in Brantford, Ontario
Created to encourage awareness and reflection on the tragic legacy of Indian residential schools and the need for healing and reconciliation

About the Truth and Reconciliation issue

This stamp issue is the first in a series showcasing the visions of Inuit, Métis and First Nations artists for the future of truth and reconciliation, with the hope of encouraging awareness of and reflection on the effects of colonization on Indigenous Peoples and the work of the truth and reconciliation process. Brantford, Ontario is the cancel location because it is the site of the Mohawk Institute (the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabeg), whose opening in the early 1830s made it Canada’s first Indian Residential School.

About the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Between the 1830s and the 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children across Canada were taken from their families and sent to federally created Indian residential schools. Stripped of their languages, cultures and spiritual traditions and forced to assimilate into white society, the children endured unsafe conditions, disease, and physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Thousands of them never made it home. Held for the first time in 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal day of commemoration on September 30 to honour the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.

About the artists and designs

Jackie Traverse, First Nations artist (Lake St. Martin, Manitoba) – Anishinaabe, Ojibwe

The illustration by First Nations artist Jackie Traverse, centred on the bunchberry, a flowering plant found across Canada, represents seeds of change, reminding us that for bountiful future harvests, we must share the sun, water and land. Traverse is a multi-disciplined Indigenous artist who works in several media, from oil and acrylic paintings to mixed media, stop-motion animation and sculpture. Her work speaks to the realities of being an Indigenous woman.

Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona, Inuit artist – Qamani'tuaq (Baker Lake), Nunavut

Inuit artist Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona features a woman lighting a qulliq, the traditional Inuit stone lamp, to signify care and healing for all Indigenous communities. Originally from Baker Lake, Nunavut, Kabloona comes from a family of renowned Inuit artists. Art is how she connects with others within her culture, showcases her Inuit heritage, and expresses her Indigenous identity. Kabloona's work puts a modern take on traditional Inuit imagery, and strong women frequently appear in her art.

Kim Gullion Stewart, Métis artist – Athabasca, Alberta (currently lives in Pinantan Lake, British Columbia)

Métis artist Kim Gullion Stewart places beaded flowers over the contour lines of a map as a reminder of the need to live symbiotically with the land, nature and each other. Gullion Stewart was born in Athabasca, Alberta. Her father's heritage connects her to the Métis homeland of Red River, Man. She creates metaphorical meaning by connecting Métis cultural art forms (hide tanning, beading, quillwork) with contemporary and graphic art forms. In her art, she searches to uncover the depths of her Métis identity and learn Métis knowledge systems that have been hidden, lost or adapted as a survival mechanism.

Blair Thomson, artist and graphic designer

Canadian designer Blair Thomson offers two perspectives – the trauma and pain endured by Indigenous Peoples and the settlers' shame and acknowledgement of this truth. An Indigenous child looks out from behind the hands to reinforce the message that we must never look away again. His multi-award-winning work has been featured in many leading design publications worldwide.

Product # 414194131

Truth and Reconciliation: Official First Day Cover