National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2024: Canadians from coast-to-coast gather to honour survivors of residential schools

Residential school survivor Jacquie Cote shared painful memories of herself, her brother and her sister's time spent at residential schools in Kenora and Kahnawake.

Joined by her siblings on a stage on Parliament Square in front of a crowd dressed in orange, Cote says for her, there is no forgiving.

"We were put on a train and went to Kenora near Winnipeg. That's how far we had to go to school. When we got there, they stripped us," said Cote, while being accompanied by a single fiddle in the background.

"They wanted to kill the Indian in the child."

Cote says she was 7-years-old when she was sent to residential school, along with her 4-year-old brother and her sister — a total of six went together.

"There was a lot of abuse," said Cote. "Physical, sexual... they were all a bunch of pedophiles."

She says priests would visit them at night in the rooms where they slept — cots lined up with barely any space in between.

"My sister Margaret was beside me, and I don't even remember her at all," Cote recalled while staying silent for a moment.

"That's how much it affected me."

Cote says there is no forgiving for what was done to herself and her family.

Canada's Governor General Mary Simon addressed the crowd gathered to mark Truth and Reconciliation Day on Parliament Hill Monday, saying the courage residential school survivors displayed to overcome such a dark period in the history of indigenous people left her "deeply inspired."

Panawsiai from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation in Quebec says there is more Canada could be doing in terms of reconciling with First Nations people across the country.

"I don't think they are doing enough in meeting our requests or demands and they should be doing more," said Panawsiai.

Phyllis Webstad, whose story of having her clothing confiscated at residential school sparked Orange Shirt Day, visited Kugluktuk, the westernmost community in Nunavut, to mark the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

"It's very fitting that Phyllis would join us here in this Inuit community because the Inuit people are among the most resilient... to me that is describing Phyllis, I'm just so thankful the two can be brought together," said Kuglugtuk resident Lori Rudyk in an interview with CBC News.

What does reconciliation mean to you?

Is Canada doing enough?

As Canadians gather across the country for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, events are starting to take place on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. That includes a cloth bearing the names of the children who lost their lives in the residential school system, which numbers over 4,100.

There were 140 federally run residential schools in Canada that operated between 1867 and 1996.

Those who survived the schools advocated for recognition and reparations, as they demanded accountability for the intergenerational impacts of harm caused. Their efforts came together in:

• the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement

• apologies by the government

• the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

• the creation of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission ran from 2008 to 2015 and provided those directly or indirectly affected by the legacy of the residential schools policy with an opportunity to share their stories and experiences.

The Commission released its final report detailing 94 calls to action. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a direct response to Call to Action 80, which called for a federal statutory day of commemoration.

A National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony is set to kick off on Parliament Hill at 3 p.m. ET. to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential school system and the children who never made it home.

The event on Parliament Hill will include speeches from Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors as well as musical performances. As the sun sets, the Peace Tower and Ottawa’s Senate will be bathed in an orange light.

In Canada, Sept. 30 is set apart as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — also known as Orange Shirt Day — to honor and commemorate residential school survivors and the Indigenous children who never came home.

The observance was first created in 2013, but became a designated statutory holiday in 2021 following the discovery of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

What is the origin of Orange Shirt Day?

The Orange Shirt Day movement was started by Phyllis Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation and former Residential School student, to honour Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors, and to remember those children who never made it home.

"When i had just turned six, i was sent to the Saint Joseph Indian Residential School near Williams Lake, a place we called 'The Mission,'" said Webstad.

"My granny bought me a shiny new orange shirt to go to school in. When I got there, I was stripped, my clothing taken away, including my new orange shirt, and I never saw it again."

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultural identities to engage with the ongoing fallout from the Residential School system.

The day aims to raise awareness of the residential school system in Canada

Between the late 1800s and 1996, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children attended Indian Residential Schools.

Residential schools are not a distant memory; the last one closed in 1996. Many survivors are still grappling with the trauma of their experiences, including physical and sexual abuse.

Orange Shirt Day commemorates the ongoing impacts of the Residential School system.

What can you do to mark this day?

You are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on September 30. Other suggested activities include:

• attending or organizing an online or in-person event

• reading about the legacy of residential schools

• reading the summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

• watching films online about people’s experiences at residential schools

• learning about First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures

• visit a Friendship Centre

Across the country, you can find public local activities and gatherings organized to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools.

Click the link HERE for virtual and in-person events taking place nationwide.