Surrey Schools recognizes Truth & Reconciliation with new schools, Orange Shirt Day and more

Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell presented to students at Earl Marriott Secondary ahead of this year's National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. Surrey Schools remains committed to its efforts towards truth and reconciliation

As 2025 marks two significant observances in the pursuit of truth and reconciliation, Surrey Schools remains committed to upholding Indigenous culture and history through its ongoing efforts, including the naming of two new elementary schools opening in the 2025-26 school year.

Tomorrow is the fifth annual National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, with this year marking a decade since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action, a multi-volume report outlining the need for reconciliation across the lines of child welfare, education, language, culture, health, justice, equity and more.

“It’s been 10 years since the calls to action, and it’s a good time to assess how we have done,” said Lyn Daniels, Director of Instruction with the Indigenous Learning department.

Surrey Schools resides on the traditional, unceded and shared territories of Coast Salish peoples: the Katzie (q̓íc̓əy̓), Kwantlen (q̓ʷa:n̓ƛ̓ən̓) and Semiahmoo (SEMYOME) First Nations.

New Schools

The district started the school year with the opening of Theresa Clarke Elementary, named after the late Kwantlen First Nation elder in recognition of the local territory. Daniels noted the school’s name is significant – not just because it is after a prominent elder, but because it was gifted to the district by the Kwantlen First Nation. The school also bears the traditional name “stəqʷaθen” meaning “across from but facing you; a Village on Surrey Side near Qiyqet” on its sign.

“That is such an honour and a privilege for us to have that,” said Daniels.

In January, the district anticipates the opening of Snokomish Elementary, named in consultation with the Semiahmoo First Nation (SFN) and Chief Harley Chappell. Snokomish refers to an Indigenous community that lived in the area of the Serpentine and Nicomekl rivers and south, and experienced a significant reduction caused by smallpox and influenza. Survivors later joined the Semiahmoo and Kwantlen First Nations.

Theresa Clarke Elementary and Snokomish Elementary are the latest schools to receive names from the Coast Salish First Nations. In recent memory, the district has opened the following schools with Indigenous names:

• Ta’talu Elementary (October 2024), meaning “little arms” in the ancestral language SENĆOŦEN spoken by the Semiahmoo Peoples, referring to the school’s proximity to the Campbell River;
• Xw’epiteng Elementary (September 2024), pronounced “wha-pea-tung” meaning “place of many rabbits” and gifted to the district by Chappell on behalf of the SFN;
• École Salish Secondary (September 2018), after the Coast Salish Peoples of the local territory, named in consultation with the Katzie, Kwantlen and Semiahmoo First Nations; and
• Katzie Elementary (April 2014), for its location on the traditional lands of the Katzie First Nation.

Daniels said having new schools bear meaningful Indigenous names has been a welcome form of acknowledgment and reconciliation, and a symbol of truth in continuing to tell their stories.

“We have to tell that truth, because that’s what got us here, that’s how we are here today,” she said. “I started my career so long ago, I didn’t think I would see these days. Even to teach about the history was so hard to get into the public schools, but now it is here.”

This year's Orange Shirt design by Grade 9 Kwantlen Park Secondary student Makani Szwaba.

👕 Orange Shirt Day

In lieu of the Sept. 30 statutory holiday for the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation and the coinciding Orange Shirt Day, students across Surrey and White Rock donned orange shirts last Friday, remembering those lost to residential schools and honouring the survivors.

This year’s district orange shirt was designed by Grade 9 Kwantlen Park Secondary student Makani Szwaba, bearing the words, “Journey Towards Reconciliation,” symbolizing the ongoing nature of the pursuit of truth and reconciliation in Canada.

Professional Development

For Surrey Schools staff, the district’s Indigenous helping teachers organized an event on the Sept. 29 Pro-D day, featuring a screening of Our Grandmother the Inlet by Tsleil-Waututh and Tulalip filmmaker Kayah George (Halth-Leah).

In a speech accompanying the film, George reflected on the relationship to water, culture, land and the healing nature of making a film as a form of self expression. George is also a young environmental leader who has spoken globally about climate justice and shared the teachings of her nations to honour and care for the earth.