Each year as we seek to listen, learn, and grow relationships with Indigenous neighbours, we appreciate the importance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. We recognize this date as a day to “honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”
All Kindred branches will be closed on Tuesday, September 30. We will use this time to encourage members and staff to learn, reflect, and take action toward reconciliation.
How we can Learn, Listen, and Act together
Leading up to September 30, each year we collect and share additional resources in support of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Below are some ways you can learn, listen, and act.
Read (or re-read) the 94Calls to Action
Have you read the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada? Even if you have read them before, we encourage you to read, reconnect and reflect on the Calls each year. How can you move from reflection to action?
Consider choosing one or two Calls to Action that you could integrate into your life or work. What’s your plan? How will you hold yourself accountable?
Also check out the CCUA website: https://ccua.com/advocacy-compliance/community-impact/truth-and-reconciliation/
Orange Shirt Day
For many years, one of the tools for building awareness of the harms done through the residential school system has been to wear an orange shirt. Held annually since 2013, September 30 also marks Orange Shirt Day, a day to learn about, remember, and honour Indigenous children who were taken from their families and sent to residential schools across Canada.
Read the history of how Orange Shirt Day came to be.
The Tamarack Institute will host a webinar entitled “Loving Lessons from our Equity, Reconciliation and Belonging Journey on September 24 from 12pm-1pm.
Attend a Local Event
This is not a comprehensive list rather a place to start:
University of Waterloo, September 30, 2025 from 7:00am – 12:00pm at B.C. Matthews Hall Green.
Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery: Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun: Floor Opener, until October 5, 2025. Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun Lets’lo:tseltun is one of Canada’s most outspoken and influential contemporary artiests, confronting colonialist suppression, environmental degradation, and the ongoing struggles for Indigenous sovereignty.
Anishnabeg Outreach will recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at their Spirit Garden, located at 1160 Spitzig Road, from 10am-12pm where they will be sharing their new Reconciliation Roadmap.
The historic site of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons invites you to join them for a journey of self-reflection by offering free admission on September 30.
The Woodland Cultural Centre invites you to attend the unveiling of the Former Mohawk Institute Residential School as an Interpretive Historic Site on September 30 beginning at 10am.
The N’Amerind Friendship Centre is hosting a community breakfast and sunrise ceremony beginning at 6:30am at 260 Colborne Street in London.