Canada marks National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with ceremonies

Canadians observed the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Tuesday, Sept. 30, with ceremonies, educational events and public memorials across the country to honour survivors of the residential school system and remember the children who never returned home. Activities took place in cities including Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver and ranged from tipi raisings and pipe ceremonies to parliamentary gatherings and community walks.

The day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, traces its origins to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and to survivor Phyllis Webstad’s account of having an orange shirt taken from her on her first day at residential school. The residential school era, which researchers date between the mid 19th century and 1996, involved the forcible removal of roughly 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children into church-run, government-funded institutions where many were prohibited from speaking their languages and where abuse was widespread. Estimates put the number of children who died while at the schools at about 6,000, though experts say the true toll may be higher.

In Calgary, The Confluence Historic Site...