Every Child Matters - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On September 30, we remember and recognize the survivors of residential schools. The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes and sent to residential schools. When Phyllis Webstad went to St. Joseph’s Residential School for the first time, she took with her a shiny new orange shirt that her grandmother bought for her. That shirt was taken away and never returned and has become a symbol of the Every Child Matters movement.   

OPL is proud to honor the  Every Child Matters movement and mark Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a series of virtual programs and initiatives: 

• On September 28, we invite children to join us for Orange Shirt Day Assembly: Live Stories with Christine Sioui Wawanoloath, a Wendat Abenaki author and artist. Join us at 12:45 pm for the English program and at 1:45 pm for the French program. The programs will be live streamed on our OPL Facebook page, and the recordings will stay until October 5. 

• On September 29 at 7:00 pm, we invite you to join Jenny Buckshot Tenasco, a Residential School Survivor, and her daughter Anita Tenasco (members of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community) for Kìyàbadj Kidandanizimin. We are still here. They will share some thoughts and reflections on how Canada's Residential School system has impacted First Nations communities. 

• On October 4 (French) and October 7 (English), KAIROS Canada is inviting us to a virtual KAIROS Blanket Exercise. Developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and educators, the KAIROS Blanket Exercise (KBE) is an interactive and experiential teaching tool that explores the historic and contemporary relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now know as Canada. Places are limited and registration required. 

If you visit your local branch, you will find a special display highlighting Indigenous artifacts and recommended books for all ages. For children’s resources to read and share, be sure to check out our Orange Shirt Day Teaching Toolkit.  

For more Indigenous content, check out our Indigenous collections: read, listen to, or view works from our collection of books, films, and music by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit authors and artists; also find out about Indigenous book recommendations and upcoming programs.