Clarington has listed activities leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, also recognized as Orange Shirt Day. The municipality says the day honours Survivors and intergenerational Survivors of the residential school system and remembers children who never returned home. The municipality identifies the area as the traditional and treaty territory of the Mississaugas and Chippewas of the Anishinabeg, known today as the Williams Treaties First Nations. It says the day is an opportunity to acknowledge the past and take part in learning and intentional conversations about reconciliation. The source explains that Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led commemoration intended to raise awareness of the intergenerational impacts of residential schools and the Every Child Matters message. It traces the orange shirt symbol to Phyllis Webstad, whose shirt was taken on her first day at residential school.
An orange-ribbon reflection space is available outside the Courtice Community Complex from September 18 to October 15. Residents are invited to tie a ribbon to a temporary orange fence to honour Survivors and remember children who never returned home. The municipality describes the installation as a month-long place for reflection and community conversations.
Clarington’s libraries are hosting screenings of ‘Siksikakowan the Blackfoot Man’: September 25 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Courtice Library, and September 28 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Bowmanville Library. The film introduces viewers to the lives and stories of boys and men of the historic Blackfoot Confederacy. Author Monique Gray Smith is scheduled for an online Zoom visit on September 28 from 7 to 8 p.m. She will discuss her personal journey, read from her books and speak about Canada’s historical treatment of Indigenous people and her Cultural Resilience model. Registration is required. The online event is presented with Durham and York Region Libraries.
The First Peoples Indigenous Centre at Durham College will host its second annual Orange Shirt Day Mini Powwow on September 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The gathering is planned outdoors in the Naanaagide’endamowin (Art of Thinking) Courtyard beside the CFCE building; a rain location will be announced if needed. The college describes it as a celebration of Indigenous culture, resilience and community, with traditional drumming, dancing and storytelling. Everyone is welcome.
The Oshawa Museum will offer Truth and Reconciliation Day tours from noon to 4 p.m. on September 30 at 1450 Simcoe Street South. The museum lists its Miijim: Traditional Foods of the Lake of the Woods Anishinaabeg exhibit, the Moccasin Identifier Project and A Carrying Place among the activities. The exhibit was collaboratively designed by Iskatewizaagegan #39 Independent First Nation, the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Manitoba and the Lake of the Woods Museum. An Indigenous Drum Circle is also listed for 4 to 6 p.m. at 115 Grassmere Avenue in Oshawa. Clarington also points residents to an Orange Shirt Day design by Indigenous artist Brooklyn Lewis; proceeds support Bawaajigewin’s cultural programming for the urban Indigenous community in Durham Region.
Source: Municipality of Clarington — https://www.clarington.net/news/posts/mark-the-6th-national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation-at-an-event-in-clarington-or-durham-region
