Every Child Matters

Truth and Reconciliation

Held each year on September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was recognized by the Canadian government beginning in 2021, in direct response to Call to Action #80 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to take part in this important collective commemoration intended to honour the Survivors of Canada’s residential school system, their families and communities, and to ensure that public recognition of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Before becoming recognized by the Canadian government as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30 was known as Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day grew out of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad’s story of having her “shiny new orange shirt” forcibly taken away from her on her first day of residential school. Orange Shirt Day was created to build awareness of the individual, family, and community intergenerational impacts of Canada's residential schools. Read Phyllis' story in her own words.

OCAD U students, faculty and staff are encouraged to wear orange and take time to learn more about the impacts of Canada’s residential school system and the experiences of its Survivors.

Events at OCAD U

 

BEHIND THE BRICKS: IN CONVERSATION WITH RICK HILL SR. 
 

Wednesday, September 23 
1 to 2 p.m. 
100 McCaul St., Auditorium (Room 190) 

OCAD University welcomes Richard (Rick) Hill Sr., a member of the Beaver Clan of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee at Grand River, to campus. 

He will talk about the new book he conceived and oversaw, Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, which recounts the story of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s first and longest-running residential school and a model for the entire residential school system.  

The book, co-edited by Hill with Alison Norman, Thomas Peace and Jennifer Petit, is an important work that provides deep insight into the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s first, and longest-running, residential school, operating from 1828 to 1970 in Brantford, Ontario.  

A question-and-answer session, following his talk will be moderated by OCAD U President Ana Serrano. 


About Rick Hil 

Rick Hill Sr. is Tuscarora, Beaver Clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River and a leading knowledge specialist at the First Nation Technical Institute. A historian and museum curator, he has led a 40-year campaign to repatriate wampum to their original Haudenosaunee owners and makers. 

He is the former assistant director for Public Programs, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution; museum director at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico; assistant professor, Native American Studies, SUNY Buffalo; and former senior project coordinator of the Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Six Nations Polytechnic.  

He was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of Canada in 2023 in recognition of his leadership in Indigenous art history and culture, and for his efforts to recover and restore Haudenosaunee artefacts and ways of living. 


 

NO CLASSES 


On National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Wednesday, Sept. 30, a reminder that no classes are scheduled. 

 

ORANGE SHIRT PIN AND TOQUE FUNDRAISER 


The Indigenous Student Centre, along with volunteers from the OCAD U community, have been making orange shirt pins for an Orange Shirt Day fundraiser. These pins, along with orange toques, will be for sale from Sept. 22 to 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the café space on the second floor of 100 McCaul St. 

Funds raised are being donated to the Survivors’ Secretariat, a survivor-led, community-centred and trauma-informed organization established to Uncover, Document, and Share the truth about what happened to the children at the Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School. 


 
SUNRISE CEREMONY 


A sunrise ceremony, with Elder Liz Osawamick is taking place in Butterfield Park at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30. Members from the OCAD U community are invited to attend and encouraged to wear orange. 

  
 

GATHERING FOR A SHARED PURPOSE 

 

September 30, 12 noon - 1:00pm in Butterfield Park, 100 McCaul Street 

OCAD U community members are invited to participate in a Truth and Reconciliation lunch and learn with a specific focus on building practices of accountability and reconciliation. Bring your lunches, bring food to share (if you can), for our gathering in Butterfield Park on September 30. This year Dr. Ayumi Goto will be leading our conversation about reconciliation and world-building.  This is scheduled to take place from 12 noon to 1:00 pm (Sept 30) in Butterfield Park, 100 McCaul Street. 

Speaker: Ayumi Goto is a performance apprentice, currently based in Toronto, traditional territories of the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and Mississaugas of the Credit River. Born in Canada, she sometimes draws upon her Japanese heritage and language to investigate notions of national culturalism, senses of belonging, and activism in her creative practice. She enjoys working in collaboration with artists, scholars, and communities writ large to explore creatively and critically reconciliation discourses and relational ethics. Most recently, she has performed public interventions in Berlin, London, and Kyoto, as well as focusing on developing human-nonhuman interconnections through performances in rural and forested areas. Ayumi is currently completing her Ph.D. in Communication Studies at Simon Fraser University. In her thesis, she explores a performatively premised conceptualization of "collective responsibility" and relationality as expressed in the practices of Cree Métis artist, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, and Siksika artist, Adrian Stimson, and Tahltan performance artist, Peter Morin. 

External Events


Light Toronto Orange: Truth and Reconciliation Day, 2026
On September 30, 2026, the Canada Malting Silos at Public Pier will be illuminated orange as a symbol of remembrance, reflection, and a shared commitment to Truth and Reconciliation alongside the CN Tower, The Bentway, and other neighbourhood partners.

The illumination of the Canada Malting Silos is made possible by the Public Pier partners, The Bentway, OCAD University, Harbourfront Center, and the Waterfront BIA.

All are welcome to join the main event, Light the Tower Orange, at the CN Tower, held in partnership with the Orange Shirt Society. The evening will feature remarks from Elders and Indigenous community representatives, along with music, traditional drumming, and dance performances intended to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities together in the spirit of reconciliation. Inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad (Secwépemc from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation), Orange Shirt Day reminds us that Every Child Matters.
 

The Toronto Council Fire Indigenous Legacy Gathering is organizing a series of activities being held on September 28- 30. There will be opportunities to explore Indigenous culture through hands-on workshops, music, dance and performance at Nathan Phillips Square (100 Queen St. West).  

 
The Annual Pow Wow - Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, will take place in Dufferin Grove Park (875 Dufferin St.) at noon on Saturday, October 3. There will also be a sunrise ceremony at 7 a.m. 

Resources
 

Learn more about the Indigenous community at OCAD U: 


Learn more about Canada's Indian Residential School system, and the survivor, family and intergeneration impacts on this country's Indigenous peoples:  


Learn more about the Indigenous community in Tkaronto and Ontario:  


Learn about the treaties: 


Learn more about the story of Indigenous peoples in the place we now call Canada:  


Learn about national Indigenous political and advocacy organizations:  

Wellness supports
 

The list below contains 24/7 support services for Indigenous people.  

  • Indian Residential School Crisis Line (For Survivors and Family) 1-866-925-4419  

  • Kids Help Phone Indigenous people can connect with an Indigenous crisis responder by messaging FIRST NATIONS, INUIT, or METIS to 686868 for young people and 741741 for adults or through  Facebook Messenger  

  • FNMI Hope for Wellness Hotline 1-855-242-3310  

  • Anishnawbe Mental Health Crisis Line 416- 891-8606  

  • Talk4Healing Indigenous Women 1-855-554-4325  

  • Aboriginal Crisis Intervention Line 416-531-0330   

 

Additional supports:  

  • Immediate support: 416-408-4357 (Distress Centre) 

 

More Information