Honour the Day | National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

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Honour the Day

There are many ways to participate in this day of remembrance and reconciliation.
  • Tune in to Indigenous programming – APTN has an incredible lineup of programs airing from September 29 – October 1, to educate and inspire. (see the schedule)
  • Stream the APTN lumi specially-curated collection of shows titled “Remembering the Children”. The collection features a unique variety of programs that reflect on the experiences of residential school survivors and encourages audiences to continue to walk the long path of reconciliation. (Learn more about APTN lumi and sign up for a free trial membership.)
  • Watch educational sessions from Truth and Reconciliation Week presented by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, featuring survivors, children of survivors, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, artists and leaders from many nations and cultures. (Learn more)
  • Attend the live commemorative gathering on September 30 at 1pm (ET) taking place at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. If you’re not in the Ottawa area you can watch a live broadcast of the gathering on all APTN channels. (Learn more about Remembering The Children: National Day For Truth & Reconciliation)
  • Wear an orange shirt in solidarity with Indigenous communities on September 30.
  • Make an ‘Every Child Matters’ sign or print off an orange shirt cut-out to display at home. (download here)
  • Participate in a memorial walk or attend an event hosted by Indigenous community members.
  • Donate to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Residential School Survivors Society. (donate now)
  • Review the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and commit to at least one. (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls To Action PDF)
  • Read books by Indigenous writers. We’ve compiled a list based on recommendations by our viewers however there are many more books and authors available. Check with your local bookstore or library for more recommendations.

    Non-Fiction

    • Seven Fallen Feathers by Tanya Talaga
    • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimerer
    • A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott
    • Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
    • The Dispossessed: Life and Death in Native Canada by Geoffrey York (foreword by Tomson Highway)
    • Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising by Brandi Morin
    • 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
    • Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway
    • The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
    • A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
    • Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance by Jesse Wente
    • In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience by Helen Knott
    • Broken Circle: The Dark Legacy of Indian Residential Schools by Helen Knott
    • Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL's First Treaty Indigenous Player by Fred Sasakamoose

    Fiction

    • Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
    • The Marrow Thieves, Hunting by Stars, and Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
    • There There by Tommy Orange
    • The Break and The Strangers by Katherena Vermette
    • April Raintree by Beatrice Culleton Mosionier
    • Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq
    • Dear Canada: These Are My Words by Ruby Slipperjack
    • I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis & Kathy Kacer
    • Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
    • Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
    • Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

    Poetry

    • Crow Gulch by Douglas Walbourne-Gough
    • Undoing Hours by Selina Boan
    • Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist
    • Calling Down the Sky by Rosanna Deerchild
    • IRL by Tommy Pico
    • page as bone – ink as blood by Jónína Kirton
    • it was never going to be okay by Jaye Simpson
    • nedi nezu (Good Medicine) by Tenille K. Campbell

    Children’s Books

    • Awâsis and the World-Famous Bannock by Dallas Hunt (illustrated by Amanda Strong)
    • Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk (illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis)
    • When We Were Alone by David Alexander Robertson (illustrated by Julie Flett)
    • The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad (illustrated by Brock Nicol)
    • Coyote Tales by Thomas King (illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler)
    • When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton (illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard)
    • As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie & Constance Brissenden (illustrated by Heather Holmlund)
    • I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe (illustrated by Pauline Young)
    • Birdsong by Julie Flett