National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. Created to honour the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action number 80, the day honours the families, children, and communities whose lives were forever changed by the Residential School System. It serves as a reminder of the enduring legacies of these schools and their ongoing impacts on Indigenous peoples in Canada today. Indigenous peoples, families, and communities across Canada continue to grapple with the profound and lasting ramifications of the Residential School System. Orange Shirt Day draws its name from Phyllis Webstad’s experience on her first day at a residential school. The orange shirt has come to symbolize the loss of language, culture, and identity that she and so many others experienced in these institutions. 

This day calls for reflection on the continuous work of reconciliation, recognizing the lasting legacies of trauma, and supporting the voices of Indigenous peoples and communities as they navigate their path toward healing and reclaiming the culture and identity that was stolen from them. It is an important reminder that reconciliation is an ongoing process, requiring sustained efforts to honour the resilience of Indigenous communities.

The CTRC has compiled a list of resources to support you in your learning journey.   

For Orange Shirt Day, the Orange Shirt Society urges that you listen to Phyllis Webstad’s story, the origin of Orange Shirt Day. The Orange Shirt Society also has created video resources about residential Schools for classrooms, as well as curated print resources. 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has handpicked resources for educators, sorted by grade. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has published its Calls to Action.

The Assembly of First Nations offers toolkits covering topics ranging from residential schools to treaties.

“The Stranger” Official Video – Gord Downie – Secret Path is a video of the first chapter of the multi-media project The Secret Path by Gord Downie, detailing the true story of a young boy trying to return home from a Residential School. The story is recommended for grades 10-12. 

YouthREX has resources focusing on supporting educators, youth, and Indigenous Youth, in various mediums such as videos, podcasts, and written resources.  

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation has compiled a list of resources on Residential Schools in Canada.

Shattering the Silence is a free ebook created for educators by Project Heart about the history and legacy of Residential Schools in Saskatchewan. 

Canada’s National Historical Society offers a treaty educational package with lessons for multiple grade levels on the meaning, history, and legacy of treaties in Canada.

Historica Canada offers Indigenous history teaching kits for free, applicable to multiple grade levels.

Voices From Here is a video series and lesson plan about Indigenous history in Canada, tackling a variety of important topics such as residential schools and treaties.