Events are planned across BC for Sept. 30, also known as Orange Shirt Day
This is not a complete list. Please check with your Nation, community, band office or local friendship centre to find out how you can participate on this day.
If you plan to gather in-person on Sept. 30, even if you are fully vaccinated, please follow the latest COVID-19 public health restrictions on gatherings. Bring a mask and be kind to staff and volunteers if they ask you to wear one, for your health and the safety of others.
If recent events are triggering painful memories or feelings, and you need someone to talk to, there are trusted mental health and wellness providers who can help.
Vancouver Island Region
Cowichan Tribes - Every Child Matters March
- 8 – 9 a.m. Registration
- 9:15 a.m. Prayer
- 9:30 a.m. Walking
Start: Vancouver Island University. End: Cowichan Tribes, Si'em Lelum Soccer Fields on River Road
Organizer: Audrey 250-732-1708
Bring drums, mementos (shoes, teddy bear etc) to leave at City Hall.
Cowichan Tribes
Mamalilikulla First Nation – 5th Annual Every Child Matters Orange Shirt Day Walk
11 a.m. Campbell River Spirit Square
More information
Tla-O-Qui-Aht First Nations – Indian Residential School Gathering / Orange Shirt Day
9 a.m. – Gather at the Tin Wis.
News — Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation
Tseshaht First Nation – Orange Shirt Day Event and Walk.
- 11 a.m. at Harbour Quay
- 1 p.m. Maht Mahs parking lot for refreshments, stories and songs
- 4 p.m. Closing remarks
Join at the walk location or center fire at Maht Mahs after walk is complete.
For more information please contact Myra Mack. 250.724.1225
Snuneymuxw First Nation (City of Nanaimo, Ladysmith Public Schools) – Honouring our Children Ceremony
10 a.m. at Sway-a-Lana, Maffeo Sutton Park / Swy-a-lana.
- Leadership messages
- Welcome pole ceremony / flag recognition
- Elder sharings
- Children and youth performances
Interior Region
kʷ łac k̓l q̓lspúʔus uł kʷ ay̓ʕ̓ay̓ncút ixíʔ ksc̓sapaʔx k̓l spúʔus (when you laugh all your sadness goes away)
6:30 p.m. at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Center.
Come laugh with the hilarious Tonia Jo Hall as Auntie Beachress. Finishing off the evening is Don Burnstick, Cree from the Alexander First Nation located outside of Edmonton, Alberta, whom you may know from CBC's The Debaters and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. Featuring Sylix Artists Madeline Terbasket and Cori Derrickson. Sponsored by the Okanagan Indian Band.
Live-stream tickets
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc : Be heard. Be seen. On behalf of the children.
Join virtually at 2:15 p.m. Pacific time.
Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc is offering a way for people to connect, support and ground into the importance of Sept. 30, 2021.
On this very first Canadian National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc is calling upon people around the world to gather safely to drum and sing for the missing children of Indian Residential Schools.
Share how you will participate through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtag #DrumForTheChildren and tagging:
Northern Region
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Williams Lake First Nation
Ceremony to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
1 p.m. on St. Joseph's Mission site, followed by a vehicle procession to the Arbor, at which there will be a drum circle at 2.15 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.
"Honouring the Survivors" Event – Walk for Truth & Reconciliation
11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 9505 100 street, Fort St. John at Centennial Park
- 11 a.m. Drumming & opening prayer
- 12 p.m. BBQ lunch
- 1 p.m. speakers & dancers
- 3:30 p.m. Cave tours at Tse'K'wa
Open mic available for survivors.
Tseyaz Bunk'ut (formerly known as Lejac Indian Residential School) – Be Seen Be Heard Be Felt – Drum for the Children
- Noon – opening prayer
- 1 p.m. Guest speakers Theresa Nooski, Sarrah Storey, Chief Robert Michell, Elder Roy Nooski
- 2:15 p.m. Drum for the 215 children found in Kamloops Indian Residential School
Masks and hand sanitizer provided. Stay in family bubble. Bagged lunch provided.
Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) – “For Love" Documentary Premiere
CSFS will premiere a new documentary called "For Love" narrated by Canadian singer Shania Twain.
"The horrors of residential schools are finally starting to be understood by non-Indigenous Canadians," said producer Mary Teegee, who is also the executive director of CSFS, which serves 11 member Nations in northern B.C. and has 190 staff members from Prince George to Burns Lake.
Visit the www.csfs.org news page for more information. For Love|Official trailer.
National Truth & Reconciliation Day - Prince George
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park.
Drumming, dancing, stories and activities. Don't forget to wear your orange shirts.
Truth and Reconciliation Community Walk – Prince Rupert
1 – 5 p.m. at Jim Ciccone Civic Center Track and Field.
Goal is to complete 215 laps together. Everyone welcome. Water and snacks provided. Indian Residential School Survivors Society cultural supports on site.
Tansi Friendship Center Society – Chetwynd
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Spirit Park.
Indian taco lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Bannock and stew cook-offs, dancers, Kukom V the puppet to teach Cree.
Adah Dene Healing Society – Nakazdli
Delivery of food to the Indian Residential School Survivors and elders. The Elders Center will have an open house with COVID-19 precautions in place. There will be an in-person, outdoor gathering in Portage–Margo and team will be smudging and in ceremony with participants.
Gitxsan Human Services Society – Gitanyow will be delivering t-shirts to the three western Gitxsan communities' Elders and Indian Residential School survivors.
Dze L K'ant Friendship Centre Society
Tabling from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Main Street Office along 2nd Avenue for the week of September 27 - October 1, leading to the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
Call 250-847-5211 for details. Pandemic Protocols are a must for the table discussions on 2nd Avenue.
University of Northern British Columbia Truth and Reconciliation Talking Circle
10 a.m. – Join online for singing, dancing, storytelling and more.
Vice-Provost of Indigenous Initiatives, Dr. Henry Harder, and Manager of Office of Indigenous Initiatives, Brandon Prince, are hosts for the 90-minute event. Enjoy a special guest performance from Prince George dancers Kelsey Abraham and his daughter Bella Rain Abraham. Please wear an orange shirt to honour the experiences of Indigenous People, celebrate resilience and affirm that every child matters.
Join the Zoom webinar
Webinar ID: 685 0169 6372
Passcode: 192017
Vancouver Coastal Region
Orange Shirt Day Elders' Walk with the Britannia Centre – Vancouver
- 9 a.m. Assemble outside of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre (1607 E Hastings Street)
- 9 a.m. Walk to Grandview Park
- 10 a.m. Ceremony at Grandview Park
- 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Activities (lunch / drum circle / sharing)
Details at britanniacentre.org
Orange Shirt Day Intergenerational March – University of British Columbia (UBC)
11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Start outside the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.
Many of UBC's STEM faculties (applied science, land and food systems, science and forestry) are holding an intergenerational march and inviting the entire UBC community to join in.
Xweýene:msta:m ?əkwəsqwel, seýeḿ “Call to witness / listen to respected one"
Noon at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (formerly known as the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza).
Xweýene:msta:m ?əkwəsqwel, seýeḿ is a performance to honour Orange Shirt Day. This In-person event was co-created by Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolf Pack), Mortal Coil and Butterflies in Spirit and is presented by the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The event is free and open to the public.
Fraser Salish Region
Vigil in Maple Ridge
7 – 9 p.m. – Memorial Peace Park.
The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Katzie Local Immigration Partnership, together with Resilience B.C. Spokes, will hold a vigil to show support for Indigenous Communities and First Nations across Canada. Participants are invited to write a letter to a missing child. Wear Orange if possible.
It's time to drum - Coquitlam
1:30 p.m. – Gather at Lafarge Lake, at the Community Plaza on the east side of the lake. Parking at Town Centre, Coquitlam; Skytrain to Lafarge-Douglas.
Join Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc in the Sewépemc Honour Song for all the missing children of former residential schools.
- 2 p.m. Learn the Sewépemc Honour Song
- 2:15 p.m. Drum and sing for the children. #DrumForTheChildren
