Today (September 30) is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. It’s a day to honour the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. It’s also a day to raise awareness of the generational impacts of residential schools and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.
At East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP), the Ontario Health Team (OHT) serving East Toronto, we recognize the role we play in ensuring a safe, healing and welcoming space for First Nations, Inuit and Métis community members. This includes providing culturally competent, trauma-informed care and recognizing the value of Aboriginal healing practices.
We thank our member organizations and community members for their ongoing commitment to this work and taking the time to mark this important occasion. Here are some of the ways our partners recognized National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day this year.
Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services
At Access Alliance, September 30 is about recognition, reflection and acknowledgment related to Truth and Reconciliation as a process and commitment. The organization’s Truth and Reconciliation activities are centred on staff awareness, staff capacity building, and community engagement. Activities included:
- Music video presentation (September 30): Staff were invited to watch a short music video created by an Indigenous musician that highlights and a poignant story. Access Alliance is also encouraging all staff to wear an orange T-shirt to honour the experiences of Indigenous people and affirm a commitment to “Every Child Matters”.
- A visit to an Indigenous Spirit Garden (September 30): In collaboration with the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, Access Alliance’s Environmental Program Team is taking a group of residents to the Spirit Garden opening ceremony at Nathan Phillips Square. The Spirit Garden responds in part to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Call to Action 82, which calls for governments to commission and install a Residential Schools Monument in each capital city to honour residential school survivors and all the children lost to their families and communities. Nathan Phillips Square was selected as a publicly accessible, highly visible location to celebrate the resilience of survivors and their families with space for teaching, learning, sharing and healing.
- Lunch and learn (October 3): Access Alliance’s Anti-Oppression and Anti-Racism (AO/AR) Committee is hosting a lunch-and-learn session about Truth and Reconciliation across all three of its sites.
- Indigenous Culture Capacity-Building Workshop Series (September 2024 to March 2025): Access Alliance is collaborating with the Toronto North Local Immigration Partnership to host a series of capacity-building workshops focused on Indigenous culture for staff. These workshops will provide a deeper understanding of Indigenous history and culture and help integrate this knowledge into the organization’s thinking, planning and work. There will be a total of six workshops, taking place between September and March. The workshop topics are:
- The Beginner’s Guide to Decolonization
- What is Two-Spirited? Decolonization Part 2
- Land Based Learning: The Fundamentals
- Decolonizing Education
- How to Teach About Residential Schools
- Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Les Centres d’Accueil Héritage
See English translation below.
Le 30 septembre, la communauté des aînés francophones des Centres d’Accueil Héritage s’associe à la célébration de la journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation, une journée de deuil et de réflexion sur notre passé commun et le traumatisme générationnel causé par les pensionnats. Notre Centre de Vie Active pour les aînés organise des présentations et une conversation pour continuer de s’éduquer en tant qu’alliés en après-midi à partir de 15 heures, au 33 Hahn Place à Toronto. Nous nous réunirons et porterons des tee-shirts orange pour rendre hommage aux enfants disparus et aux survivants mais surtout nous serons là car nous pouvons tous et toujours tirer profit d’un apprentissage plus approfondi de la vérité et de la réconciliation. La découverte plus détaillée de ce que nous pouvons faire, du rôle que nous pouvons jouer dans ce processus, en tant qu’individus, en tant que communauté est essentielle au processus de réconciliation.
On September 30, the French-speaking seniors’ community of les Centres d’Accueil Héritage joins in the celebration of Truth and Reconciliation Day, a day of mourning and reflection on our shared past and the generational trauma caused by residential schools. Our Active Living Centre for Seniors is hosting presentations and a conversation to continue educating ourselves as allies, in the afternoon from 3 p.m., at 33 Hahn Place in Toronto. We will gather and wear orange T-shirts to honour missing children and survivors, we’ll be there because we can all and always benefit from learning more about Truth and Reconciliation. Discovering in more detail what we can do, what role we can play in this process, as individuals, as a community, is essential to the process of reconciliation.
East End Community Health Centre
Michael Cheena, Cree First Nation Knowledge Keeper, met with the East End Community Health Centre team on October 1. Michael led the entire staff in a smudging ceremony and gave a two-hour talk on the history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations in Canada. He also discussed the Seven Grandfather Teachings, a set of Anishinaabe guiding principles in living a good life in peace and without conflict. This served as a meaningful way for the organization to recognize both National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
Michael Garron Hospital
On September 30, Michael Garron Hospital hosted screenings of short documentaries from the National Film Board’s Indigenous Cinema Channel. These screenings provided hospital team members with an opportunity to understand the many ways colonization and systemic racism have negatively impacted a culture, language, passing on of traditional knowledge and way of life for generations of Indigenous communities.
MGH team members were also encouraged to reflect on their individual and collective journeys through Truth and Reconciliation and to commemorate the day in other ways, such as wearing an orange T-shirt, attending local events, and learning more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report.
Kennedy House
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, youth experiencing homelessness at Kennedy House Shelter collaborated on designing a custom orange T-shirt. This collective effort allowed the young residents, aged 18 to 23, to honour Survivors of residential schools and acknowledge the importance of Reconciliation.
Together, they created a design that reflects their shared commitment to learning about Canada’s history and supporting Indigenous communities. The shirt incorporates symbols of hope, resilience, and respect, serving as a powerful tribute to the call for truth and reconciliation.
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
In addition to watching the film, guests will enjoy a performance by Indigenous dancers and drummers, partake in a panel discussion including with the film’s director Jason Cipparrone, and light refreshments.
Community members are welcome to attend the screening on October 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 955 Queen St. E. Registration is required. Please email srchc@srchc.com to save your seat.
West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre
West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre hosted an open house event on September 28 that included a recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This included storytelling, dancing and drumming, as well as performances by Sweet Pea Events, an Indigenous-owned professional event planning and consulting company in Toronto.
WoodGreen Community Services
WoodGreen Community Services’ Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity Team hosted an interactive presentation for team members on September 30 featuring Dawn Maracle, an expert in Indigenous relations. Maracle provided an overview of why reconciliation is important and why it needs to be discussed now. WoodGreen also encouraged its teams to wear an orange T-shirt on September 30.