September 30th is听the National Day for听Truth and Reconciliation. The National Day for听Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory holiday which gives the public a chance to recognize and commemorate听the intergenerational harm听that residential schools have caused听to Indigenous families and communities, and to honour those who have been affected by this injustice.听
View the events and programming section below to learn more and get involved in the McGill Community on Monday, September 30th.听
McGill staff show solidarity on Orange Shirt Day (photo taken in September 2022).
The National Day for听Truth and Reconciliation responds to Call to Action 80 from the , which听reads:
80. We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to read more and the 2024 program of events.听
September 30th is also .听
"The annual Orange Shirt Day on September 30th opens the door to global conversation on all aspects of Residential Schools. It is an opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind.听 A discussion all Canadians can tune into and create bridges with each other for reconciliation.听 A day for survivors to be reaffirmed that they matter, and so do those that have been affected.听 Every Child Matters, even if they are an adult, from now on."
(Orange Shirt Day )
Orange Shirt Day invites Canadians to wear orange shirts on September 30th each year to honour survivors of residential schools, their families, and their communities. The Orange Shirt Day website has a for anyone looking to organize an Orange Shirt Day event at their school or work.听
Friday, September 30th, 10:00-11:30am. Faculty of Education Pavillion (3700 rue McTavish).
At 10:00am, opening remarks will be delivered by Elder Mike Mitchell, followed by the Critical Campus Tour (developed in 2023).
Critical Campus Tour Flyer: developed within the Faculty of Education and Students. The Critical Campus Tour will be held from 11:50-12:50pm on McGill University's downtown campus. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
Monday, September 29th, 1:30-3:30pm.听Room 365/70, Armstrong Building.
McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives are pleased to co-host Travis Seymour (FCPA, FCGA, MBA, CAFM), NEO of the First Nations Market Housing Fund for a keynote speech on the topic of reconciliation and building Indigenous sovereign wealth.听
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1.听
Monday September 30th听12:00-1:00pm "Indigenous Perspectives on Truth and Reconciliation in Post-Secondary Education" panel听on听
This panel will follow Minnie Grey, Natasha MacDonald, and Alicia Aragutak as they discuss their perspectives on how Truth and Reconciliation methods are implemented approached in various workings of post-secondary educational settings.
2. Monday September 30th 3:00-4:30pm, 680 Sherbrooke Room #1041: "We Were Children" Movie Screening
View the School of Continuing Studies webpage here.
Monday, September 30th, 6-9pm. Percival Molson Stadium.听
Join McGill Athletics and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives for the third annual Legacy Game: Honouring the Indigenous Roots of Lacrosse.听
Tickets are available on the McGill Athletics .听
This year, the Varsity Council will be gathering donations for . Attendees are asked to bring the following, if they are able:听
Clothing (high priority): hoodies, long johns, underwear, socks, ball caps, tuques, hand warmers, mittens, shoe laces, insoles.听
Non-perishable food items: canned food (beans, corn, chickpeas, tuna), Kraft dinner, granola/protein bars, juice boxes, pre-packaged cookies.听
Items may be dropped off from 6:30pm until half-time of the game.
Monday, September 30th, 1pm.听Monument 脿 George-脡tienne Cartier.
Organized by the Native Women's Shelter, Resilience Montreal, and POP Montreal, the third annual "Every Child Matters" march will be taking place through downtown Montreal to commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The march is scheduled to depart at 1pm at Parc Mont-Royal. Those attending are asked to kindly bring food, warm clothing, and donations for the Milton-Parc community, as the march will be along Milton, where many homeless people live.
For more information, please visit the event .听
This year's "We Will Walk Together/Sk脿tne Entewathah矛ta" event will involve an outdoor ceremony honouring the children, survivors, and families impacted by residential and day schools. It will include guest speeches and drumming performances. Following the ceremony, there will be an interactive information fair that highlights Indigenous initiatives within the Faculty of Education and beyond. The event's theme is "Education is the key to reconciliation."
Join the Montreal community at the 2nd annual Every Child Matters/Truth and Reconciliation Day March organized by the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal and Resilience Montreal. The confirmed speakers are Ellen Gabriel (Katsi'tsakwas), Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, Chief Jessica Lazare, Ben Geboe, Steve McComber, Elisapie Isaac, 鈥淕enerational Warriors鈥� Lara Kramer with daughter Ruby Caldwell Kramer and Autumn Godwin with daughter Clara Godwin, and Maya Cousineau Mollen. All are encouraged to attend, wear orange, and bring their drums.
The Indigenous Law Association / Association de Droit Autochtone (ILADA) at McGill is hosting a fundraiser selling "Every Child Matters/Chaque enfant compte" orange t-shirts. The t-shirts are $20 each, all proceeds will go towards Resilience Montreal.
To support ILADA's fundraiser, visit them on Tuesday, September 27th from 5:00-6:30 pm on McTavish Street in front of the SSMU building, Wednesday, September 28th from 1:00-2:30 pm in the New Chancellor Day Hall (NCDH) Atrium, or on Thursday, September 29th at their , taking place from 5:00-7:00 pm in the NCDH Atrium.
Follow ILADA for updates on their fundraiser and the work they do more broadly.
Time: September 30th, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Streamed from First Peoples鈥� House -听Register for the free event to receive the Zoom link.
Description: A series of听talks,听discussions,听performers, led by Elder Geraldine Standup (Traditional Healer,听Kahnawa:ke), on the theme of Hope and Healing.听Guests include throat singer Nina听Segalowitz听and youth from St. Edmund Elementary School.听
Host unit and contact person:听Faculty of Education 鈥� Mindy Carter, Claudia Mitchell听
Time:听September 30th, 12:00 p.m. 鈥� 1:00 p.m.
Location:听The event will be livestreamed on the . Open the livestream in YouTube听.听
Description:听A talk by Wanda Gabriel听(Assistant Professor, McGill Social Work), on the topic of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This talk is the first in a series听related to the McCord exhibition听Indigenous Voices of听Today;听Knowledge, trauma, resilience.听听
Register for the free event .听
Host unit and contact person:听School of听Continuing Studies听鈥� Dr. Carmen Sicilia听at indigenousrelations.scs [at] mcgill.ca.听
Time: September 30th, 12:00 p.m.
Location: McTavish Street
Description: On September 30, 2021, we will gather to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and to honour the victims and survivors of Residential and Day schools. A moment of silence, vigil and drumming ceremony will be held on the McTavish Street at 12:00 EDT before joining a march at Place du Canada. We will be fundraising by selling "Every Child Matters/Chaque enfant compte" orange t-shirts (designed by an Indigenous Artist and Law Student) in the days before September 30th. All proceeds will go to the .
Host unit and contact person: The Students' Society of McGill University, the McGill Law Students' Association, and the Indigenous Law Students' Association - Darshan Daryanani (President of SSMU president [at] ssmu.ca)
Time: September 30th, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location:听Virtual - Access the Zoom link .听
Description:听Guest speaker Dr. Sheri McKinstry, Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan. Learn听more about the event on the Faculty of Dentistry website here.听
Host unit and contact person:听Faculty of Dentistry -听Christine Ebrahim
Time: September 29th, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual - Register for free
Description:听Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill is holding a virtual event on the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Learn more about the event here.听
Host unit and contact person:听Max Bell School of Public Policy - Katrine Brink Claassens
Time:听September 29th, 4:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual -
Description:听It is time to increase the visibility, role, and responsibility of the emerging modern Indigenous economy and the people involved. This is the foundation for economic reconciliation. This is Indigenomics.
Join us for a discussion with Carol Anne about Indigenomics, her new book on the ongoing power shift and rise of the modern Indigenous economy. Indigenomics lays out the tenets of the emerging Indigenous economy, built around relationships, multigenerational stewardship of resources, and care for all. It calls for a new model of development, one that advances Indigenous self-determination, collective well-being, and reconciliation.
Carol Anne Hilton is founder of the Indigenomics Institute and an advisor to business, governments, and First Nations. She is a Hesquiaht woman of Nuu chah nulth descent from the west coast of Vancouver Island. She holds an MBA and comes from 10,000 years of the potlatch tradition. She lives in Victoria, BC.
The webinar discussion will be moderated by MISC director Daniel B茅land and will be followed by an audience Q&A.
Host unit and contact person:听The McGill Institute for Study of Canada - Stephan Gervais
Time: September 30th, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual -
Description: Teach in on the implications of the most recent findings from the First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2019.
Host unit and contact person: School of Social Work, Indigenous Access McGill and the Centre for Research on Children and Families - Nico Trocm茅
Time:听This event has been postponed. Updates will be posted as soon as possible.听
Location: TBD
Host unit and contact person: Indigenous Studies and Quebec Studies programs (supported by MISC) - Stephan Gervais
Time:听September 30th, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.听
Location:听Virtual -听
Description: The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation will take place in Canada on Sept. 30th, for the first time. The day was created to give everyone an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, which more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were forced to attend between the 1870s and 1997.
We must ensure that this day remains to be a day of remembrance for Indigenous people and a day of education for all Canadians and the McGill Community. To promote and commemorate this event, an Indigenous Health workshop will be jointly shared by the First Peoples' House, the Indigenous Health Professions Program, the Global Health听Programs and the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health.
This workshop will introduce attendees to an Indigenous perspective on health, healthcare systems accessibility, and the many related challenges. The workshop will start with a presentation at 3:30 p.m. and end around 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Speakers include:
Join the workshop presentation on September 30th, 2021 via Zoom.
Host unit and contact person:听Kevin Jutras, Master of Science in Public Health student听
Time: September 30th, 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.听
Location: Leacock Building, Room 738 -
Description: Both the Atikamekw and Mohawk Nations of Qu茅bec are engaged in a deep transformation of the history curricula taught in their communities. Christian Coocoo, of the Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw, and Sandra-Lynn Leclaire, of the Kahnaw脿:ke Education Center, will discuss their experience with these new programs, and how it relates to the deeper goals of sovereignty and renewal. An open discussion with students and faculty will follow on historical research and teaching and Nation-to-University collaborations in the wake of the TRC.
Host unit and contact person: History and Classical Studies - Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert
Time: September 30th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location:听Virtual - Register here to receive the Zoom link
Description:听September 30th has been designated a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which provides an opportunity for us to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools in Canada. To commemorate this day, the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management will be hosting a storytelling event. The event will be held virtually on Thursday, September 30 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. We encourage you to take the time to participate in this opportunity to listen and reflect, and to participate in other ways on this day and every day.听More events听held across campus will be announced in the weeks to come.
Host unit and contact person:听Desautels Faculty of Management -听Ireland Compton
In addition to the events held by different units and faculties, the University will be taking the following steps to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:
