September 30, 2022, will mark the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday, which honours the children who never returned home, the victims’ families, the survivors of residential schools, and all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis who are enduring such an unimaginable loss. This date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were removed from their homes and forced into residential schools.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation builds on and honours Orange Shirt Day, which takes place on the same day. The Residential School System has impacted multiple generations of Indigenous peoples, with long-term detrimental effects on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, cultures, economies, traditional knowledge and ways of life, languages, family structures, and connections to the land.
This year, The Town is displaying the Survivor’s Flag, which offers an opportunity to reflect and assist Canadians to better understand our country’s past, including past wrongs, and to commit to contributing to a better future.
The Survivors’ Flag is an expression of remembrance, meant to honour residential school survivors and all the lives and communities impacted by the residential school system in Canada. Each element depicted on the flag was carefully selected by survivors from across Canada, who were consulted in the flag’s creation.
The flag represents the Family, the Children, the Seeds Below Ground, Tree of Peace, the Cedar Branch, Cosmic Symbolism, the Métis Sash, the Eagle Feather and the Inuksuit.
For more information on the NDTR, please visit: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – Canada.ca