National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation recognizes the legacy of residential schools, which more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were forced to attend. These schools operated between the 1870s and 1997. This federal holiday, on September 30, honours the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit survivors, their families, communities, and those who perished. It also ensures that we continue to learn about the harms that occurred and ongoing negative impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous communities.

In May 2021, the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation recovered the remains of 215 children on the grounds of the former Kamloops Residential School. More remains have been located and the numbers keep rising as numerous searches continue to take place across the country.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was initially suggested in June 2015 in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report, as one of 94 recommendations. The federal holiday was officially established on June 3, 2021, when Bill C-5 was passed.

2025 Events

Truth and Reconciliation Week 2025 in East Gwillimbury

Truth and Reconciliation Week in Canada is an annual event observed from September 23-27, leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) and Orange Shirt Day on September 30. They serve as a time for mourning the tragic and painful history and ongoing harmful impacts of the residential school system on Indigenous Peoples. The week and day honour the children who never returned home, survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities.

This year in East Gwillimbury, there will be a flag ceremony, community event, and several opportunities to engage with a NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit. Join the Town of East Gwillimbury and our partners, the East Gwillimbury Public Library and the Sharon Museum and Gardens, at the following free events as we mourn the Indigenous children who did not return home from residential schools and honour the healing journey of survivors, their families, and communities.

EG Flag Ceremony

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time: 10 to 10:30 a.m.
Address: 19000 Leslie Street, Sharon
Event Site: East Gwillimbury Civic Centre Community Flagpole.
Parking: There is free parking behind the Civic Centre building on the west side.
Description: All EG staff and residents are welcome to join the Town of East Gwillimbury flag ceremony in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Mayor Virginia Hackson will deliver remarks.
To commemorate the day, Orange Shirt Day cookies made by Angela Cimino-Owner of Wiishkobi Home Baked Goods (an Indigenous woman owned local bakery) will be served.
For those not able to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on the Town’s Facebook page.

NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit (September 23 – 27, 2025)

Dates: September 23 – 27, 2025
Times: From library opening to closing time.
Address: 19513 Yonge St, East Gwillimbury, ON
Exhibit Site: East Gwillimbury Public Library (EGPL) - Holland Landing Branch
Description: The EGPL will display a NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit by artist Angela Cimino.
About the NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit: The Exhibit will help visitors meaningfully reflect on the past harms and current-day legacy of the Residential School System in Canada. It will also explore the need for Truth and Reconciliation. The Exhibit features written content and physical items that prompt reflection. The Exhibit materials were created by Angela Cimino, a local Indigenous community member and Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman). After being displayed at the East Gwillimbury Public Library, the Exhibit will be moved to the Sharon Museum and Gardens. Please see below for more details.

NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Trail (September 30, 2025)

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Address: 18974 Leslie Street, Sharon
Event Site: Sharon Museum and Gardens. Visitors can enter from the Sharon Museum and Gardens gift shop, where staff will guide them to the Reconciliation Path.
Parking: There is free parking in front of the Sharon Museum and Gardens.
Description: All EG staff and residents are welcome to move through the NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Trail. The Trail is located behind the Sharon Museum and will feature the NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Exhibit, spread out along a pathway. After visitors move through the Trail, they will be invited to craft a heart that can be placed into the Hope and Truth Reflection Garden. Please note that the Trail journey is a short, self-guided pathway that can take about 10-20 minutes to complete.

NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Community Event (September 30, 2025)

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time: 4 to 5 p.m.
Address: 18974 Leslie Street, Sharon
Event Site: Sharon Museum and Gardens. Attendees can meet in the Hope and Truth Reflection Garden, located on the east side of the Sharon Museum.
Parking: There is free parking at the Sharon Museum and Gardens.
Description: All EG staff and residents are welcome to attend the NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Community Event, which is being held in partnership with the Sharon Museum and Gardens, the Town of East Gwillimbury, and the East Gwillimbury Public Library. The event will include:
- Remarks by East Gwillimbury Mayor or designate, Ian Proudfoot, President of the Board of the Sharon Museum and Gardens, and Councillor Brian Johns, Town of East Gwillimbury Council Liaison to Sharon Museum and Gardens.
- A traditional ceremony by the Indigenous Action Committee (IAC), a non-profit organization established in 2022 that provides Indigenous Peoples, primarily located in York Region, with cultural activities and programs that focus on traditions and customs.
- A story reading by the East Gwillimbury Public Library
- An invitation to move through the NDTR and Orange Shirt Day Reconciliation Trail (located behind the Sharon Museum) and to craft a heart that can be placed in the Hope and Truth Reflection Garden.

What is Orange Shirt Day?

Orange Shirt Day originated from the personal story and experience of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to children's sense of self-esteem and well being, and is now an organization that works to educate the public and their commitment is to ensure that everyone around us matters.

Phyllis (Jack) Webstad's Story

Learn more about the origins of Orange Shirt Day and their current work to help build the confidence of Indigenous youth and ensure everyone feels accepted.

Learn More

Residential Schools and Indigenous Voices Book List

The EG Public Library has put together a list of relevant topic books and picture books for all ages.

Check Out The Book List Now!

Message from Mayor Virginia Hackson

Mayor Virginia Hackson's Message for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Read the Full Message

Truth and Reconciliation in EG

Land Acknowledgement

The Town of East Gwillimbury recognises and acknowledges the lands originally used and occupied by the First Peoples of the Williams Treaties First Nations and other Indigenous Peoples, and on behalf of the Mayor and Council, we would like to thank them for sharing this land. 

We would also like to acknowledge the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation as EG's closest First Nation community and recognize the unique relationship the Chippewas have with the lands and waters of this territory.  They are the water protectors and environmental stewards of these lands, and we join them in these responsibilities.

Flag raising ceremony

Mayor and Council are committed to holding a flag ceremony each year in honour and support of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Learn about the local Chippewas of Georgina Island

Ahneen, Biindigen! Hello, Welcome!

Join them as they share stories about their home and community, Georgina Island First Nation. Their proud heritage is a living tribute to their ancestors and Chippewa people.

Visit the Chippewas of Georgina Island website

History of Residential Schools

Canadian Geographic: Residential Schools in Canada

Canada Geographic: Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada

The Guardian: Cultural Genocide: The Shameful History of Canada’s Residential Schools - Mapped

Government Articles

Government of Canada: Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement

Government of Canada: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Government of Canada: Delivering on Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action

Government of Canada: First Nations in Canada

Ontario Government: Archived - Reconciliation

Global News: National Day for Truth And Reconciliation Will Not Be Provincial Holiday in Ontario

Related Resources

CBC News: Tk'emlúps Nation extends invitation to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Reconciliation Canada

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM): Indigenous Voices

Video: How to Talk About Indigenous People - Video

TEDx Talks Video: Creating Environments For Indigenous Youth to Live & Succeed

TEDx Talks Video: Truth and Reconciliation

Various reports on Truth and Reconciliation – Resources shared by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation 94 Calls to Action

Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – 2015

Calls to Action Accountability: A 2023 Status Update on Reconciliation – Yellowhead Institute Report

Jordan’s Principle – A child-first principle ensuring First Nations children get the services they need when they need them, in memory of Jordan River Anderson. It is available to all First Nations children registered under the Indian Act, Indigenous children, and non-status children.

For more information, learn more here. To see who is covered, please visit here.

The Indian Association of Alberta’s 1970 Red Paper – A report presented to the federal government in 1970, prepared under the leadership of Harold Cardinal and the Indian Association of Alberta, in response to the 1969 White Pape

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP - Youth Version)

Videos

Angry Inuk – An Inuit documentary that speaks to "the reality of Inuit life with the story of their challenge to both the anti-sealing industry and those nations that mine resources on Inuit lands while simultaneously destroying the main sustainable economy available to the people who live there." The documentary can be purchased here.

Canadian Shame: A History of Residential Schools – TEDx Talks

Creating Environments for Indigenous Youth to Live and Succeed – TEDxKitchenerED

How to Talk About Indigenous People

Identity and Post-Secondary: A First Nations Experience – TEDxKitchenerED

Indigenous Voices – ROM at Home

The Art of Survival: A Modern Day Inuit Odyssey Through the Arts – TEDxYYC

Truth and Reconciliation – TEDx Talks

News Article

CBC News: Tk'emlúps Nation extends invitation to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – CBC News

'We called it 'Prison Island': Inuk man remembers forced relocation to Grise Fiord – CBC News

Articles and Blogs

Decolonization is not a metaphor

So why don’t we just abolish the Indian Act?

Reclaiming Indigenous Place Names – Article by Christina Gray and Daniel Rück

What is your theory of change these days? – Blog post by Dr. Eve Tuck

Blog from Chelsea Vowel, a Métis writer, and educator whose work intersects language, gender, Métis self-determination, and resurgence

Books

"The Story of a National Crime: An Appeal for Justice to the Indians of Canada" – A book written by Dr. Bryce in 1922 that outlines the government's role in establishing and maintaining conditions that led to the high number of student deaths in residential schools and the government's deliberate decision to not take action

Recommended books by Indigenous authors – 2017 List by Book Riot

“Some of the best books by Indigenous writers in Canada” – 2023 List by Kobo

Decolonizing Equity – Book edited by Billie Allan and V.C. Rhonda Hackett

Toolkits and Action Plans

Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK 2019 Indigenous Allyship Toolkit

Towards Braiding – Resources on ethical and rigorous engagement with Indigenous communities by Elwood Jimmy and Vanessa Andreotti

Urban Indigenous Action Plan

Digital Map Tools

Whose Land (a web-based app that identifies Indigenous Nations, territories, and Indigenous communities across Canada)

A searchable global map of Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties by Native Land Digital

Organizations

Reconciliation Canada

FNMIEAO (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Association of Ontario)

Support Local Businesses

This page will continued to be built out as we connect with local community businesses. If you have or know of a local Indigenous business that should be added, please contact our Communications Team.

SUPPORT ORANGE SHIRT DAY,
SUPPORT LOCAL:

As more people learn about Residential Schools and Phyllis’ Story, many people want to wear an orange shirt to show their support of Residential School survivors and their families. Should this feel like something you would like to do, we encourage you to support local Indigenous artists.

Locally created orange shirts are available at:

Island View Business Centre
7751 Black River Road
Sutton West, Ontario
L0E 1R0
705-437-2533
www.islandviewbc.com
@islandviewbusinesscentre7751