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People attend a ceremony on Truth and Reconciliation Day at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in September, 2024.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Canada marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Tues., Sept. 30. This year also commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report and the 94 Calls to Action.
Here’s what you need to know about the day’s significance, Orange Shirt Day and the lasting effects of the residential school system on Indigenous communities.
What is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2008 as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, with the purpose of documenting the history of the Canadian residential school system as well as its harmful and continued effects on Indigenous peoples.
Between 2008 and 2015, the TRC travelled across Canada and heard the testimonies of more than 6,500 individuals from Indigenous communities. The TRC also hosted seven national events to educate Canadians about the history and legacy of the residential school system. In 2015, the TRC released a report with its findings. It documented the truth about the residential school system and included 94 Calls To Action (or recommendations) of what Canada needs to do to achieve true reconciliation.
The recommendations specify an action plan for all areas of Canadian society, including health care, media and education. Call to Action No. 80 is for the federal government to establish “a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour survivors, their families and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
As of Sept. 1, a total of 14 Calls to Action have been completed by the federal government; about 40 per cent of the actions have either not been started or have stalled. If Canada continues at this pace, it will take 56 years (until the year 2081) until all the Calls to Action are completed, according to a 2023 report by Yellowhead Institute, a First Nations-led research centre.
What is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
The day is a direct response to Call to Action No. 80.
The House of Commons unanimously supported legislation in June 2021 to make Sept. 30 a federally recognized holiday to mark the history of the residential school system and and the intergenerational trauma it caused.
The day was made official shortly after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in British Columbia announced the discovery of 215 suspected unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school and touched off an outpouring of support from Canadians. The report was deemed by many politicians to be a moment of reckoning for the country, highlighting its need to come to terms with what happened in residential schools and the cascading effects the system has on the lives of Indigenous people today.
What is Orange Shirt Day?
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Residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day, speaks in Vancouver, in September, 2021.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation coincides with Orange Shirt Day, a movement that began on Sept. 30, 2013, when Phyllis Webstad from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation opened up about her trauma caused by residential schools.
Forty years prior, Webstad had arrived for her first day of residential school wearing a new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, but school officials stripped her of her clothing and confiscated it.
Orange Shirt Day functions to raise awareness about Indigenous children who had their culture and freedoms ripped away from them, to honour the victims of residential schools and to reinforce the message that “Every Child Matters.”
When did the last residential school close?
Roughly 150 residential schools operated in Canada between the 1800s and 1996, when the last one was closed. More than 150,000 Indigenous children – First Nations, Inuit and Métis – attended these schools. Many of them were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, as well as harsh conditions, and more than 3,200 are estimated to have died in the schools, according to the TRC report.
The TRC reviewed 138 residential schools, shown in the map below. Most of the buildings have been demolished, but some were converted to other uses: The Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., has reopened as an educational and tourism facility called the Woodland Cultural Centre, after a restoration organized by survivors, historians and museum consultants.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
SOURCE: truth and reconciliation commission
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SOURCE: truth and reconciliation commission
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: truth and reconciliation commission
What are Indigenous groups and leaders calling on Canadians to do?
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Brooklyn Rudolph, a Winnipeg designer who was selected by Walmart to create its Orange Shirt Day design, at a Walmart in Winnipeg.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
As non-Indigenous people in Canada navigate the best way to honour survivors and their families, educators and residential school survivors offer their advice on what can be done to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Meghan Beals, an Indigenous leader and physician, has said that the day should include a moment of silence, suggesting that at 10 a.m. people pause “for the children who have been found, or for lost individuals.”
Another way Canadians can honour the day is by supporting local Indigenous businesses. Growing online marketplaces for Indigenous art and products are helping connect rural vendors with urban markets. But be sure to ask questions about where products are coming from and where the dollars are going.
Canadians are also encouraged to wear an orange shirt and attend a free educational session to show solidarity. But experts say it is important to take an extra step to research vendors and understand where any money raised in the name of the day goes. Look for Indigenous sellers who pledge to donate proceeds to groups that raise awareness about residential school survivors, such as the Orange Shirt Society – which lists official orange shirt retailers on its website – or the Indian Residential School Survivors’ Society.
Non-Indigenous corporations and companies such as Winners, Marshalls Canada and Walmart Canada have also collaborated with Indigenous artists to develop T-shirts for Orange Shirt day, with proceeds going to Indigenous organizations.
Is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a national holiday in Canada?
The statutory holiday applies to all federal employees and workers in federally regulated workplaces. All federally regulated industries and workplaces will be closed, including banks, post offices and public services.
Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Yukon have also followed the federal government’s move to make it a statutory holiday for workers.
Schools will be closed on Sept. 30 this year in British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, and select school districts in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Schools will be open in Ontario and Quebec.
How will Canada mark this year’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
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The Survivors’ Flag flies on Parliament Hill during a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event in Ottawa in September, 2024.Blair Gable/Reuters
Communities and municipalities across Canada will be holding events, walks, film screenings and gatherings on Sept. 30.
Landmarks such as the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill and the Toronto sign will be illuminated orange throughout the evening. The flags at most city facilities in Ottawa and across Canada will be lowered to half-mast. The Survivors’ Flag will also be flown half-mast at federal, provincial and municipal buildings across Canada.
A national commemorative gathering, called Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, will also be broadcast live from Parliament Hill. The gathering will include reflections from Indigenous elders and survivors, as well as performances by First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists. The gathering will be broadcast live on all APTN channels and partnering Canadian broadcasters, starting at 3 p.m. ET.
Learn the history of Indigenous People in CanadaUniversity of Alberta offers a free, online Indigenous Canada course that, from a historical and critical perspective, explores the complex experiences Indigenous peoples face today.The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has a trove of records, documentaries, maps and resources intended for learning and encouraging dialogue.Read about the progress that still needs to be madeSupport authentic Indigenous businesses, artists, experiences and eventsUse Shop First Nations to find Indigenous goods and services to bolster First Nations, Inuit and Métis businesses.Visit Destination Indigenous if you are looking for an immersive experience of traditional Indigenous culture through storytelling and culinary experiences.Click buyauthentic.ca for a hub that helps consumers find and purchase Indigenous merchandise, showcasing craftsmanship.Learn how to properly acknowledge the land we live onVisit native-land.ca to see whose traditional land you live on, and learn the names and geographical areas of other territories.Essential reading
Opinion: In Canada, education holds the key to reconciliation
For one residential-school survivor, making drums honours lost children
In the year after Kamloops, a family of residential-school survivors reclaim those who didn’t make it home
For boys who died at North America’s first residential school, reburial offers peace to the living and dead
With files from Kristy Kirkup, Joe Friesen, and The Canadian Press
