The City of Brantford will join communities across Canada to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
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The federal statutory holiday was created to honor First Nations, Inuit and Metis survivors, their families and communities, and to provide an opportunity for Canadians to remember the victims of the Indian Residential School system.
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The Sept. 30 holiday coincides with Orange Shirt Day, inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, a former residential school student who had her orange shirt taken away on her first day of school.
Orange Shirt Day was established as an observance in 2013, as part of an effort to promote awareness and education of the residential school system and the impact it has had on Indigenous communities for more than a century.
The Survivors’ Secretariat is working to “uncover, document and share the truth” about what happened at the Mohawk Institute residential school in Brantford during its 136 years of operation.
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The City of Brantford has partnered with several Indigenous organizations to create an Honoring Our Children Social at Mohawk Park (51 Lynwood Dr.) on Saturday from 5 pm to 8 pm
The event will feature Indigenous dance, singing, craft vendors, food and information booths.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.
To observe the national holiday, City of Brantford has announced some closures of services and facilities on Sept. 20 and Oct. 2.
City services that will be closed on Saturday include: Beckett Recreation Centre; Brantford Public Library (Main Branch and St. Paul Branch); Brantford City Hall Customer Service (calls will be routed to an after-hours provider); Lions Park Arena; Parking Enforcement Office; 220 Colborne Street.
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Brantford Transit and Brantford Lift will be running regular service on Saturday.
Several city services will be closed on Monday, including the Bell Homestead National Historic Site, Beckett Adult Leisure Centre, Brantford City Hall Customer Service (calls will be routed to an after-hours provider), the parking enforcement office, Lions Park arena and 220 Colborne Street.
The Woodland Cultural Center has been offering Orange Shirt Day programming for three weeks during September, including virtual programming for elementary school students and in-depth programming for middle and high school students, as well as educational opportunities for local organizations.
On Thursday at 6:30 pm, the Woodland Cultural Center will host a public screening of Silent No More: A Virtual Tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School. The screening starts at 6:30 pm at the center, 184 Mohawk St.
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Kindergarten and Grade 1 students from North Ward School visited Five Oaks Education Center on Wednesday for an “Indigenous learning-from-the-land” lesson ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
Pauline Johnson Collegiate will host its annual Every Child Matters football game on Friday, playing against McKinnon Park Secondary School. A portion of ticket sales to the game will be donated to Woodland Cultural Centre.
Each school team has also been invited to attend the Tiger Cat CFL game in Hamilton on Saturday as special guests for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
Assumption College is holding assemblies in honor of Truth & Reconciliation Week. The Skye Dancers perform on Friday and there will be a presentation about residential schools.
St. Mary’s will be hosting guest speaker Jason Shawana, executive director of NAAPMB Indigenous Youth Employment and Training, who will share his family’s experience with residential schools.
Students at all Brant Haldimand Norfolk District School Board schools are also being asked to participate in Orange Shirt Day and an Orange Hearts of Support activity in which students write messages of encouragement on orange paper hearts and post them on school windows.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Sept. 28 to correct dates and closures of City of Brantford services.
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