Although reconciliation is not a single day or event, September 30th is an opportunity to reflect and reaffirm our commitment to the ongoing journey of reconciliation. As a community, we pledge to listen, learn, and take meaningful steps towards healing.

Local Events: September 30, 2023

• Commemoration Ceremony: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm located at the Residential School Monument Site. A commemoration ceremony will take place to honour and remember attendees of the Sechelt Residential School. Drumming and singing, speakers, moment of silence and cultural ceremony will take place.
• Walk for Reconciliation: 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Attendees are invited to participate in a walk for reconciliation that will begin at the Residential School Monument site.
• tems swiya Museum Exhibit: The tems swiya Museum will have an exhibit recognizing Orange Shirt Day

Visit the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives / Free Truth & Reconciliation Booklet

On Saturday, September 28, from 10:30am-4:30pm, visit the Museum to explore the Kwekwinmut/Pieces of the Past stone tool exhibit, co-curated with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation. The museum will be offering free learning booklets from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to all visitors. Listen to the Nation’s origin story from Ch’k ̱w’elhp (Gibsons), and learn about Sḵwx̱wú7mesh culture and values.

You can also purchase an Orange shirts from Talaysay Tours for sale at the museum.

Where: Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives located at 716 Winn Rd, Gibsons

Other Ways to Honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

1. Wear an orange shirt on September 30th to show your support for survivors of residential schools.

• Orange shirts from Candace Campo’s Love the Land Apparel will be available for purchase at the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives. 

2. Watch

• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, from the shíshálh Nation 
• The shíshálh Story
• Becoming Syiyaya: The Growth of a Grassroots Reconciliation Movement
• shíshálh Nation Residential School Memorial statue unveiling ceremony 
• CBC Interview with Honourable Murray Sinclair: How Canadians Can Work Toward Reconciliation
• Residential Schools in Canada: A Timeline
• We Were Children by Tim Wolochatiuk. In this National Film Board of Canada film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years.  Available to rent or watch for free on Amazon Prime.
• Indian Horse directed by Stephen Campenelli. An adaptation of Ojibway writer Richard Wagamese’s award-winning novel, this moving drama sheds light on the dark history of Canada’s Indigenous Residential Schools and the indomitable spirit of Aboriginal people. Available to view on Netflix.
• Results of the shíshálh Ground Penetration Radar investigation of the former Indian Residential School site that was on the lands of the shíshálh Nation.

3. Read

• The history and view archival photos of the Sechelt Residential School, which was operated by the Catholic Church from July 28, 1904 to June 30, 1975
• The Gibsons & District Public Library will have a selection of Indigenous-focused children’s books on display to read with your kids
• The history of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) in the Gibsons area
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: 94 Calls to Action.
• What We have Learned: Principles of Truth & Reconciliation
• A Long and Terrible Shadow by Thomas Berger. In this compelling book, respected British Columbian lawyer and Native rights advocate Thomas Berger surveys the history of the Americas since their “discovery” by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
• Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Set in Northern Ontario in the late 1950s and early 1960s, this beloved novel follows protagonist Saul Indian Horse as he uses his extraordinary talent for ice hockey to try and escape his traumatic residential school experience. (Winner of Canada Reads People’s Choice award; A Globe and Mail top 100 book of 2012; 2013-2014 First Nation Communities Read Selection; CODE’s Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature)
• 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph. The essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer.

4. Listen

• Listen to shíshálh Nation rememberer xwu’p’a’lich (Barb Higgins) speak about her early life in the inlets of shíshálh Nation territory, and her school days attending school in Egmont.
• The Memoirs of Russell Moses, Residential School Survivor
• CBC Podcast: Unreserved with Rosanna Deerchild: Unreserved is the radio space for Indigenous community, culture, and conversation. Host Rosanna Deerchild takes you straight into Indigenous Canada, from Halifax to Haida Gwaii, from Shamattawa to Ottawa, introducing listeners to the storytellers, culture makers and community shakers from across the country.
• Residential Schools is a three-part podcast series created by Historica Canada and hosted by Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais, that discusses the history and legacy of residential schools, with input from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Survivors, their families, and communities.

5. Learn more

• Learn how to pronounce a variety of words in the she shashishalhem language (the Coast Salish dialect spoken by the shíshálh Nation). Click the link and learn how to pronounce a variety of words, including days of the week, feelings, common phrases and the traditional place names seen on local highway signage.
• The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. The NCTR Archives and Collections is the foundation for ongoing learning and research. Here, Survivors, their families, educators, researchers, and the public can examine the residential school system more deeply with the goal of fostering reconciliation and healing.
• The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for more than 19 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential School System (RSS) and subsequent Sixties Scoop (SS) on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote healing and Reconciliation.

Is there a book, movie, podcast, website or other resource that you think should be included here? Please send us an email at communications@gibsons.ca and we’ll add it to the page.

Background

In recent years, September 30th has been known as Orange Shirt Day, so called because of the residential school experiences of the campaign’s founder, Phyllis Webstad.

In June 2021, the federal government announced that September 30th would become “a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation”, a new annual statutory day to commemorate the history and ongoing trauma caused by residential schools, and to honour those who were lost and the survivors, families and communities who continue to grieve.

Creating such a federal holiday was one of the 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission back in 2015.

Truth and Reconciliation Day was created to provide Canadians with an opportunity to consider what each of us can do as individuals to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and to recommit to understanding the truth of our shared history, to accept and learn from it and in doing so, help to create a better, more inclusive Canada.

Individual actions may take the form of personal reflection, education and awareness activities, or by participating in Orange Shirt Day or other community events.