Each year, September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process. This federal statutory holiday was created through legislative amendments made by Parliament.
Irish in BC are honoured to recognise this day and to be able to work within the ancestral and traditional territory of the Coast Salish nations: Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
Please see below for additional resources and events to help you recognise the day, and to promote truth and reconciliation throughout the year.
Attend Virtual or In-Person Events across BC
- Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30, 2024; broadcast live from Parliament Hill, starting at 3 pm (ET)/12 pm (PST) on APTN
- Reconciliation and Resilience: A Conversation with Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs, September 25, 2024; Online
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Event, September 27, 2024; Kamloops
- Nk’Mip Cellars IRSSS Fundraising Event, September 28, 2024; Osoyoos
- National Day for Truth & Reconciliation at the SLCC, September 30, 2024; Whistler
- Walk for the Children, September 30, 2024; Penticton
- Lighting the Path – Our Stories of Resilience, September 30, 2024; Hope
- Honouring Residential School Thrivers and Survivors, September 30, 2024; Chilliwack
- Community Day at Historic Hat Creek, September 30, 2024; Cache Creek
- Orange Shirt Day at UBC, September 4 – 30, 2024; Vancouver
- History and Impacts of Residential Schools with the IRSSS at VPL, September 24, Vancouver
- Film Screening: Wilfred Buck at VPL, September 27, Vancouver
- Indigenous Cinema at VIFF 2024, September 26 to October 6, Vancouver
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Event, September 30, Nanaimo
- The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (University of Manitoba) is hosting a week of daily webinars open to the public. The sessions will provide an immersive experience to UN-learn the myths of colonial history in Canada. Expert matter speakers will present for 40-50 minutes at 10:00 am PST, followed by a Q&A between the moderator and guest(s). The topics are:
- Sept. 23: Health-related impacts of the residential school system
- Sept. 24: Allyship and confronting unconscious bias and debunking stereotypes
- Sept. 25: Impacts and addressing Indigenous identity fraud
- Sept. 26: A community perspective of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Sept. 27: How do we address barriers to reconciliation?
- Link to register: https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/lunch-and-learns/
Find other events near you by following hashtag #NDTR on social media!
Orange Shirt Day
Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on September 30th. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.
(trigger warning, these videos detail the abuse of children)
The Survivors’ Flag is an expression of remembrance, meant to honour residential school Survivors and all the lives and communities impacted by the residential school system in Canada. Each element depicted on the flag was carefully selected by Survivors from across Canada, who were consulted in the flag’s creation. For more information, visit: https://nctr.ca/exhibits/survivors-flag/
- Every Child Matters: Truth – Act One
- First Nations Experiences | Ep 1 | Residential Schools
- Métis Experiences | Ep 2 | Residential Schools
- Inuit Experiences | Ep 3 | Residential Schools
- Stolen Children | Residential School survivors speak out
- Residential school survivor Dennis Saddleman shares poem about his experience
- Intergenerational Trauma: Residential Schools
- New Heritage Minute explores dark history of residential schools
- Lillian Elias: A Residential School Survivor’s Story
- “The Stranger”
- Why so many Indigenous children died at residential schools in Canada
- Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian Residential Schools: RISE
- Indigenous survivor describes her ‘haunting experience’ of boarding school abuse
Understand the History
- Visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations
- Watch Residential Schools in Canada: A Timeline (YouTube)
- Read about First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives much older than the nation itself shared through maps, artwork, history and culture
- Learning resources about First Nations, Inuit and Métis from Government of Canada
- Register for BCIT’s Indigenous 101 workshop series, designed to increase understanding and reciprocity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Participants learn about terminology, true history of Canada, the Indian Act, contemporary reality, and the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action
- Register for the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Canada 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada
Understand Reconciliation
- Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action
- Keep updated on the progress of achieving each of the 94 calls to action with CBC’s Beyond 94, an immersive website on the 94 Truth and Reconciliation recommendations
- Watch videos on the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s YouTube channel
- Review the collection of resources available from The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
Make a Donation or Volunteer