Canada’s second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is fast approaching, and various events will be taking place across Chatham-Kent before Friday, September 30th.
A ceremony will be held at the Civic Centre at noon on Monday as the Survivor’s flag will be raised. The orange 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.
Orange Shirt pin making kits can be picked up at libraries across Chatham-Kent now through September 30th. A partnership between Chatham-Kent’s Indigenous Peer Navigator and Come Together CK, the kits include a small fabric orange shirt, a piece of leather representing the Moose Hide campaign to end violence against women and children, and a feather to represent Indigenous communities.
A healing walk and gathering is set to take place in Wallaceburg on Thursday, September 29th. The walk begins at the Wallaceburg Library at 10:30 that morning, followed by a gathering at Civic Square Park. Participants are invited to wear orange in support of reconciliation efforts. The event is a partnership between Walpole Emplacement and Training and the municipality’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice team.
Schools across the region will be paying tribute to all those impacted by residential schools with Orange Shirt Day on Friday, September 30th. A Truth and Reconciliation Day event is being held in Chatham beside the Ska:na Family Learning Centre on Eighth Street from 10am until 2 with a reconciliation table and pledges, Indigenous drum and dance demonstrations, information booths, and arts and crafts vendors.
For more events honouring the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, CLICK HERE.
