How to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with your child
Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, intended to honour residential school survivors and children who never returned home from the schools. Sept. 30 is also Orange Shirt Day, when Canadians wear orange shirts to remember the intergenerational impacts of residential school and to proclaim that every child matters.
As a parent, you may be wondering how to acknowledge the day with your kids. Phyllis’s Orange Shirt (ages four to six) and The Orange Shirt Story (ages eight to 12) are a great place to start. Both books are written by Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad, and Phyllis’s Orange Shirt is available in both French and English.
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Webstad is Northern Secwépemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). In her books, she shares her story of wearing an orange shirt to her first day of residential school, at St. Joseph’s Mission in Williams Lake, B.C.
Other books to teach kids about residential schools
- Beyond the Orange Shirt Story: Also written by Webstad, this book shares her friends’ and family members’ stories of residential school
- Picking Up The Pieces: First Nations artist Carey Newman shares how he created the Witness Blanket, a work of art that includes items collected from residential schools, churches, and government buildings
More resources
- Free virtual educational programs from Sept. 22-26, offered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation for grades 1-12. Registration is required.
- Teaching resources for educators
- Native Land, a website to inform Canadians about which Indigenous territory they’re living on
