National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
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Sep 18, 2024
Monday, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the victims and survivors of residential schools and their families and communities.
It is a day that calls on all Canadians to commemorate the history and legacy of the residential school system, honour the resilience, dignity and strength of survivors and intergenerational survivors, and remember the children who never came home. This day is also observed as Orange Shirt Day. Wearing orange honours the children who attended residential schools and recognizes the traumatic experience of Phyllis Webstad, who had her new orange shirt taken away from her on the first day she attended a residential school at the age of six.
Take the time leading up to this day—and all days—to acknowledge and better understand the history and harms that residential schools created. Commemorate in a way that is meaningful to you—as a day of quiet reflection and learning, wearing orange, or participating in a community event or activity.
Learn and Reflect
- Read Take the Indian Out of the Child, a book that speaks about the specific ways in which the Indian residential school system touched the Syilx people.
- Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.
- Explore The Witness Blanket, a interactive digital work of art containing hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and traditional and cultural structures from across Canada.
- Tour the sncewips Heritage Museum to experience the collections, histories, and oral stories of the syilx people from a sqilxʷ perspective.
Participate
- Wear an orange shirt to show your support.
- Attend the Okanagan College Annual Youth Exhibition Powwow on Friday, September 20.
- Donate to organizations like the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, a provincial organization that provides essential services to residential school survivors and families experiencing intergenerational trauma.
- Support local indigenous businesses like those listed in the West Bank First Nation Business Directory.
Note: City Hall will be closed for the statutory holiday on Monday, September 30.