How to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Calgary

Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour the victims of residential schools, survivors, and their loved ones.

Here’s what’s happening around the city on Monday to mark Orange Shirt Day.

The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland Ceremony:  9-10:30 a.m. at 750 9 Ave. S.E.

There will be presentation from various speakers, including the mayor, Indigenous Elders and school board representatives at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland (previously known as Fort Calgary).

A blessing from an Elder will start the event and there will be entertainment from Indigenous dancers.

Everyone is strongly encouraged to wear orange as a sign of support and to honour the children who didn’t return from residential schools across the country.

Pokaiks — The Children’s Commemorative Walk and Gathering: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Contemporary Calgary 701 11 Street SW

The walk will begin at Eau Claire Park on the south side of the Peace Bridge at 1 Avenue and 7 Street SW, go along the Bow River Pathway, and finish at Contemporary Calgary.

There will also be an event with Elder speakers and story tellers, youth performers, drummers, an artisan market, community organization booths, and a family activity area.

There will also be a men’s talking stick healing ceremony from 3-4 p.m. Registration is required for this portion of the event.

More information about the walk can be found here.

Building Bridges and ReconciliACTION Exhibit — Gallery Tour & Artist Talk: 2-4 p.m. at 205 8 Avenue SE

Sanja Lukač, Senior Curator of Visual & Media Arts, will provide a tour of the Galleries at Arts Commons. 

Jared Tailfeathers will speak on their collected works in the +15 Soundscape and Ledge Gallery, and Kristy North Piegan, Brendon Many Bears, and Sheila Norris will speak about their work and collaborations in the Building Bridges and ReconciliACTION exhibit in the +15 Galleries, curated in partnership with Pokaiks Reconciliation Society. 

Tours will last around 45 minutes and space is limited.

Galleries are throughout the building and will include long periods of standing, however elevator access is available.

Gallery tours will start at the Centre Court at Arts Commons.

Elders Story Project: 6:30 p.m. at Jack Singer Concert Hall 225 8 Avenue SE

Elders will share their personal stories about their residential school experiences and healing journeys, while showing the resilience of Indigenous peoples and the power of traditional practices.

Tickets are free but registration is required.

More information is available here.

Getting Under the Myth of Canadian History — Michelle Good Presentation: 12:30-1:30 p.m. at Rozsa Centre University of Calgary 206 University Court NW

Michelle Good is a Cree writer and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.

After working for Indigenous organizations for twenty-five years, she got a law degree and advocated for residential school survivors for over fourteen years.

Good earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia while still practicing law and managing her own law firm.

Her poems, short stories, and essays have been published in magazines and anthologies across Canada, and her poetry was included on two lists of the best Canadian poetry in 2016 and 2017.

The event will be hosted  Dr. Michael Hart, PhD, vice-provost (Indigenous Engagement), with special remarks from UCalgary President Ed McCauley and Calgary Public Library CEO Sarah Meilleur, BA’01. Piikani Elder Reg Crowshoe, Hon. LLD’01, will open and close the event in a good way.

More information can be found here.

Studio Bell: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: 1 p.m. at Studio Bell 850 4 Street SE

The National Music Centre (NMC) will open Studio Bell with free admission on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

NMC will present a discussion at 1:00 pm on the power of music for reconciliation, hosted by David McLeod, curator of the National Music Centre’s Speak Up! exhibition.

The event will also be livestreamed at amplify.nmc.ca/live.

Joining the panel are Cree artist Fawn Wood, recipient of the first JUNO Award for Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year in 2022 and one of latest artists to be featured in the Speak Up! exhibition; néhiyaw rapper, educator and activist Eekwol, who uses her voice to spread messages of resistance, revolution and keeping the language, land, and culture alive for future generations; and Calgary-based Métis artist Shane Ghostkeeper, founder of the band Ghostkeeper, whose most recent solo album, Songs for My People, is a reverential tribute to the music he absorbed while growing up in Northern Alberta Métis communities.

More information on the event can be found on Studio Bell’s website.