In honour of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, commonly known as Orange Shirt Day, Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre and the Urban Indigenous Sacred Circle are hosting Truth.Resiliency.Hope at Bell Park on Thursday, Sept. 26.
The event was created to “honour the children and families who suffered harm due to the Residential Indian Day Schools and the Sixties Scoop,” said the organizers.
Though Orange Shirt Day was first observed in 2013 as a way to educate and promote awareness of the trauma and suffering that survivors of the residential schools endured, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was first adopted in 2021 and is now a federal holiday (though not a provincial one in Ontario.)
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Sept. 26 will be the sacred fire, which will remain lit through the day. Several schools will be sending children to a ceremony at 10 a.m., before vendors open at 11:45.
At 1:30 p.m., the public gathering will begin at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre in Bell Park, with opening remarks from local dignitaries and by 1:40 p.m., the performances begin, which will including dancing, drumming and singing.
Then, at 3 p.m., the Zaagi’idiwin Collective’s multimedia presentation of Buffalo Risin/Bazagwiindgabwin Mushkode Bizhiki which the creators said “celebrates the resilience and rise of our little ones as they journey towards reclaiming their inherent power while honouring our peoples’ stories.”
For more information about the event and its origins, click here.
