Ways to Commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2022

September 30, 2022, will be the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.

This national day of observance was established in 2021 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action:

“We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, 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.”

Below are a few ways you can observe this important day of public commemoration, as well as ways to learn, to listen, and deepen your understanding of the history and legacy of residential schools in Canada and what meaningful truth and reconciliation should look like.

1. Read

We have catalogued many incredible books by Indigenous authors. Check them out HERE

2. Watch

3. Listen

  • Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
    Friday, September 30 at 1 p.m. (2 AT/ 2:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen
  • Telling Our Twisted Histories. Words connect us. Words hurt us. Indigenous histories have been twisted by centuries of colonization. Host Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.
  • Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. Host Rosanna Deerchild takes you straight into Indigenous Canada, from Halifax to Haida Gwaii, from Shamattawa to Ottawa, introducing listeners to the storytellers, culture makers and community shakers from across the country.
  • 2 Crees in a Pod explores a deep conversation about Indigenous knowledge and how this way of life and learning is critical for Indigenous people today.
  • A Tribe Called Geek is a nerd-culture podcast that prides itself on its “Indigenerdity.” The ATCG website covers everything from comics, STEM, cosplaying, art, entertainment and more.

4. Wear an orange shirt

  • When she was six, Phyllis (Jack) Webstad had a brand new orange shirt for her first day of school, bought for her by her grandmother. When she arrived at residential school, she was stripped and her clothes were taken away, including her orange shirt. The shirt was never returned. To Phyllis, the colour orange was a reminder of her residential school experiences: “how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.” Learn more about her story.

5. Attend an event in the Edmonton area

  • Book reading: Nokum is my Teacher and Phyllis’ Orange Shirt, September 30, 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at Royal Alberta Museum, Roundhouse. ‘Nokum is my Teacher,’ is a dialogue between a grandmother and her grandson to help him better understand the larger world while respecting Indigenous ways of life. Phyllis Webstad’s book, ‘Phyllis’ Orange Shirt’ will also be read on her true story behind creating Orange Shirt Day.
  • Royal Alberta Museum Viewing Table, September 30, 1-3 p.m. at Royal Alberta Museum lobby. Learn about Indigenous stories and objects from RAM’s Learning Collection at their viewing table in the lobby. Visitors will have the chance to ask questions and see objects up close.
  • Calling on Spirit Back, Truth and Reconciliation event, Sept 30, 2022 at Boyle Street Plaza – 9538 103A Ave
    • 7:30 a.m. – Pipe Ceremony
    • 9 a.m. – Courageous Conversation
    • 5 p.m. – Feast
    • 6 p.m. – Round Dance
  • Orange Shirt Day Walk, September 30 at 4 p.m. at Wetaskiwin and District Heritage Museum. Join us as we walk on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to remember those children taken from their homes and sent to Residential Schools. We will be walking from the Wetaskiwin & District Heritage Museum to the Peace Cairn and then move over to Jubilee Park for more activities.
  • Guided Walks on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30 at 9-11 a.m. & 1-3 p.m. at U of A MacEwan Library, Norquest Library, UofA Library & NEOS Library Consortium. Join us for reflective land-based teaching and learning on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Two walks are planned for this day, each considering the histories of these lands and its people from different vantage points.
    1. Morning Walk: ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞Indigenous Arts Park to Rossdale Burial Grounds
    2. Afternoon Walk: MacEwan Treaty Marker to Twin Burial Grounds (Saint Joachim & Edmonton Municipal)

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the traditional home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples. The nêhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Inuit, and Métis, among many others cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to steward it today. As visitors in this territory, we honour the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities. Only in partnership can we create the changes necessary to end homelessness. It is vital we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous people and communities in this work while recognizing and addressing the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous people in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.