Metro Vancouver is hosting seven National Day for Truth and Reconciliation events on Sept. 30, including walks, workshops and film screenings.
The Story
Canada marks the sixth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, a federal statutory holiday aimed at recognizing the legacy of residential schools and supporting reconciliation. In Metro Vancouver, organizers are scheduling activities across the region ranging from community walks and art workshops to public screenings and museum programming.
Semiahmoo First Nation will hold its Semiahmoo First Nation’s 6th Annual Walk for Truth & Reconciliation at Semiahmoo Park in White Rock on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event features live performances, family-friendly activities, a complimentary lunch, exhibitions and an Indigenous artisan market, and it includes the sale of orange shirts before the walk begins in the parking lot near Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles Plaza at 15393 Marine Dr.
On the North Shore, Museum and Archives of North Vancouver—MONOVA—will run a Truth and Reconciliation Day program on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum says its Indigenous cultural programmers, Jordan Dawson and Tsawaysia Spukwus, will lead hands-on crafts and activities designed to encourage dialogue for families. Admission will be pay-what-you-can, and the event is set for MONOVA at 115 West Esplanade, North Vancouver.
Across Vancouver, organizers are also encouraging residents to explore Indigenous murals created for the Vancouver Mural Festival, presented as a way to learn the stories behind artworks located throughout the traditional unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. The information provided for the mural experience points to various mural locations across the city rather than a single venue or scheduled program.
In Port Moody, Noons Creek Hatchery will host a community event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is described as an opportunity to learn about Truth and Reconciliation and will include a guest speaker, Ed Hall from Kwikwetlem First Nations. PoMoArts will lead a public art activity called “Relational Folds” and run an Origami Orange Shirt activity. The event is free and takes place at 336 Ioco Rd.
For those looking for a community screening, Trout Lake Community Centre in Vancouver is hosting a free public film event on Sept. 30 from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m. The session will feature two National Film Board of Canada documentaries: “Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man,” directed by Sinakson Trevor Solway, and “Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again,” directed by Courtney Montour. The screening is scheduled outdoors on the Gravel Field at 3360 Victoria Dr., and registration is required.
A separate commemoration focused on Orange Shirt Day and intergenerational impact is scheduled at UBC. Organizers say an Intergenerational March will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., hosted by the Faculties of Land and Food Systems and Forestry & Environmental Stewardship. The march will be held at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, 1956 Main Mall, UBC, with activities including learning about impacts of colonial policies, intergenerational trauma and Indigenous resilience. The event is free, and the march is connected to Thunderbird Commons Field.
In New Westminster, Spirit of the Children Society will host a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The information provided describes programming that will honour survivors and families while celebrating culture and identity, including speakers, food, dance and crafts. The event is free and will take place at the South Field near Queen’s Park Stadium in New Westminster.
← More stories