Statement on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30th, 2026
IPIA - 29 September 2026
Statement on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30th, 2026
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to honour and acknowledge the children who attended residential schools, their families, and communities. It is a day to remember relatives, both living and lost, and centre the truths that Indigenous peoples have been telling for generations.
For settlers, it is a day of learning and listening. Now more than ever, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity to show solidarity with Indigenous peoples and learn how to be a good relation by seeking out educational resources and opportunities to better understand the realities that Indigenous peoples face every day. Recent actions taken by hate groups against Indigenous communities highlight how much our community needs collective support and solidarity as they face denialists. Today is a day to consider how you can take action toward reconciliation and learn to confront residential school denialism.
We encourage everyone to engage in the various events, activities, educational resources, and ceremonies in ways appropriate to your own circumstances, some of which are highlighted below, and to carry these teachings into the future. Though the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation marks a period of reflection and action, we walk the path of reconciliation not just today, but everyday.
Educate
- What’s fuelling residential school denialism? | Front Burner
- Truth Before Reconciliation: Confronting Residential School Denialism, By Sean Carleton and Nigaan Sinclair.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission – TRC’s findings and other reports, further resources and information on the TRC at National Centre for Truth And Reconciliation
- Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ – reports, action plan, and other information
- Videos and Films such as; Uncovered: Truths About Indian Residential Schools, We Were Children, The Unforgotten, or Treaty Walk A Journey for Common Ground, among others.
- Podcasts or Vodcasts such as; Presenting our Presence or Unsettled: Journeys in Truth and Reconciliation
- Indigenous Canada, a MOOC offered by the Faculty of Native Studies
Donate
- Give to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society to support survivors of Indian Residential Schools, or to the Legacy of Hope Foundation to help raise awareness about the history and intergenerational impacts of the Residential School Systems and Sixties Scoop
- Give to the Native Women’s Association of Canada to support initiatives for Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people
- Give to the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Student Emergency Award or Indspire to help Indigenous students overcome financial and other barriers to access education.
Volunteer