Each year, September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Learn more about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation HERE.
National Residential School Crisis Line offers emotional support and crisis referral services for residential school Survivors and their families. Call the toll-free Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. This service is available 24/7.
Telephone and chat-based support and crisis intervention is available to all Indigenous Peoples in Canada, through the Hope and Wellness Help Line. This service is available in English and French, and, upon request, in Cree, Ojibway, and Inuktitut. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect online HERE.
Other Resources:
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Orange Shirt Day
- APTN
Programs
September 26
- Canadian Museum of History – Discussion: Community Perspectives on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, organized by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
- Art Gallery of Hamilton – “Speakers of Truth: The ongoing legacy of Federal Day Schools”
September 28
- Art Windsor-Essex – Weekends in the Studio! Bezhig Miigwan / One Feather
- Art Windsor-Essex – Film Screenings: Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past
- Art Windsor-Essex – Truth and Reconciliation Gathering
- September 28-30: Bradley Museum – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Bradley Museum
September 29
- Stratford Perth Museum – Tails & Trails
- The Village at Black Creek – Reconciliation Walk & Indigenous Art Trail
September 30
- Oshawa Museum – Truth and Reconciliation Day
- Mississippi Valley Textile Museum – “Reconciliation Through Art”
- Woodland Cultural Centre – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation & Orange Shirt Day
- Canadian Museum of History – Indian Residential School Memorial Monument – Inauguration
- Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery – Beaded Broach Workshop with Cecilia Elizabeth Best
- Diefenbunker Museum – National Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony (Orange Shirt Day)
- Guelph Civic Museum – Roots to Reconciliation: Songs and Stories with Rene Meshake
- Woodstock Museum – Flag Raising in the Woodstock Museum Square
October 1
- Koerner Hall & The Royal Conservatory of Music – Commemorate the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with Tanya Tagaq, Lido Pimienta, and others
Ongoing Exhibitions
- Alliance Française Ottawa: “Youth on Reconciliation : Imagine a Canada” Exhibition – Tuesday, September 10, 2024 to Monday, October 21, 2024
- Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre – “Indian Day Schools: The National and Local Story” – Monday, September 30, 2024 to Saturday, November 30, 2024
Offers/Discounts
September 30 – Free Admission
- Bradley Museum
- Canadian Museum of Nature
- Canadian War Museum
- National Gallery of Canada
- National Museum of History
- Peel Art Gallery, Museum & Archives (PAMA)
- Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
OMA Resources
More than a Checklist: Decolonizing Historical Narratives in Museum Spaces
OMA Workshop Resource
Recorded November 1, 2023 as part of the OMA’s Fall Workshop Series 2023, presenters Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey and Krista McCracken focus on the colonial roots of museum practice, what decolonization can mean in a museum context, and look at best practices for Indigenous community-engaged approaches to museum work. In addition to relationship-building and policy change based on the presenters’ experiences, the presenters share about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in relation to museums, Indigenous data sovereignty, the Canadian Museum Association’s Moved to Action report, and case studies for locally-driven decolonizing work.
Access the recording and slides HERE.
Sacred Trust between Museums and Indigenous Peoples
OMA 2019 Conference Keynote
This video recording from the Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference 2019 features Rick Hill speaking about a different type of Network – a connection to ancestral knowledge—in which the wisdom of the past can be understood through ongoing cultural practice, Museum collections, oral tradition, and academic scholarship.
Access the recording HERE.
Honouring Our Roots: The City of Hamilton’s Indigenous Landmarks and Monuments Review
Ontario Museum Association & City of Hamilton
This video recording from the Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference 2022 features Amber Holmes (Naawayaa), Pedagogical Leader, County of Wellington. Wellington County Museum and Archives, in collaboration with Amber Holmes (Naawayaa) unveiled a new exhibit in 2022, “Living in Relation” which provides engaging opportunities and connection through Anishinaabe teachings, worldviews and land-based pedagogies. This collaboration has opened up new perspectives on museum processes and practices, has created examples for collaboration with Indigenous communities, and demonstrates what decolonizing can look like in museum settings.
Access the video and presentation slides HERE.
Living in Relation: A Story of Indigenous Partnership and a Process of Decolonizing
Ontario Museum Association & Wellington County Museum & Archives
This video recording from the Ontario Museum Association Annual Conference 2022 features Amber Holmes (Naawayaa), Pedagogical Leader, County of Wellington. Wellington County Museum and Archives, in collaboration with Amber Holmes (Naawayaa) unveiled a new exhibit in 2022, “Living in Relation” which provides engaging opportunities and connection through Anishinaabe teachings, worldviews and land-based pedagogies. This collaboration has opened up new perspectives on museum processes and practices, has created examples for collaboration with Indigenous communities, and demonstrates what decolonizing can look like in museum settings.
Access the video and presentation slides HERE.
