(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

Penticton Indian Band chief and council will not be recognizing today as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In a unanimous decision, council stands in agreement with Chief Greg Gabriel that labelling a statutory holiday for Truth and Reconciliation is premature, according to a media release from the Penticton Indian Band chief and council.

"For years we have heard the same statements and promises being made and yet everything remains status quo. We as a people have struggled and continue to suffer from the effects of colonialism forced on to us by the Catholic Church and the Government of Canada," the statement reads.

The council is in agreement that there have been no "substantive actions" to show genuine commitments to reconciliation.

READ MORE: Apologies from Catholic church 'deja vu' for Tk'emlups chief

However, council says they do not want to discourage members and communities from holding their own events to honour survivors and those who died as a result of the Indian residential school system.

"We encourage all to keep the message strong and loud that 'we are still here' and 'we will never forget,'" the release reads.

Since Tk'emlups te Secwepemc announced the findings of 215 graves near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, there have been 1,800 graves found near former schools throughout Canada.

Chief Gabriel told iNFOnews.ca previously that he could acknowledge the statutory holiday once the 94 Truth and Reconciliation calls to action have been implemented.

According to the CBC, 13 calls to action are complete and work on 61 has begun in some measure. The remain 20 calls to action have not been started.

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Until that time, Sept. 30 will pass, as did former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's formal apology, with "no significant changes."

Harper made a formal apology for Canada's role in the Indian residential school system in 2008.

“There are still many outstanding issues related to colonialism and how our people suffered as a result of that, and it still continues today,” Gabriel told iNFOnews.ca.

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