September 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, acknowledges the lasting, intergenerational impact of residential schools, while honouring the process of reconciliation. It is intended as a day for education and reflection.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation grew from Orange Shirt Day - a grassroots movement and a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, B.C., in the spring of 2013. It was sparked by the account of Phyllis Webstad having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission. On September 30, we wear orange to remember the experiences of the children taken to residential schools.

For more than 60 years, Trent has been a leader in Indigenous education and incorporating Indigenous teachings and perspectives into curricular and extra-curricular programming. We are committed to providing education in Indigenous history, traditions, cultures, and Indigenous knowledges for our students and broader community. To advance the goals of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we have brought together a variety of resources to assist members of the Trent community to learn, reflect, and take action to advance reconciliation.

Campus events and observations

Peterborough

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - A Reflective Story Walk Featuring When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, presented by Otonabee College and The School of Education. Location: Otonabee College Quad. This event is a moment to connect with nature, listen deeply, and reflect on the painful history of residential schools, acknowledging that the gift of outdoor learning was too often denied to Indigenous children. Together, we’ll create, reflect, and honour Indigenous voices.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

6:30 a.m. - Sunrise Ceremony, Champlain College Fire Pit
9:30 a.m. - Campus Ceremony and moment of silence, Champlain College Fire Pit. All are welcome.
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon - Bridge Chalking, Stephenson/LEC Bridge
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Information table and learning activities, Lower Bata Podium
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - First Peoples House of Learning will hold space and provide supports for Indigenous students in the Ernest & Florence Benedict Gathering Space. Lunch will be provided.
10:00 am onward - Student drop-in sacred fire at the Traditional Area / Mnidoowag A'Kiing.
12:00 noon - Three Sisters Lunch, Gzowski College Quad. While supplies last.
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Quilting Circle in support of Quilts for Survivors, The Trend, Traill College. No sewing experience is necessary and all materials will be supplied. This casual drop-in invites community members to learn or share basic hand-sewing skills and help sew a quilt top to be donated to Quilts for Survivors. For more information, contact canadianstudies@trentu.ca.
Ongoing, Traill College: Drop in for personal reflection at the Children's Heart Garden, located on the south side of Kerr House. The garden was established with seeds given to the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies in 2019 by Dr. Cindy Blackstock (Gitxsan), Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, during her visit to Trent to receive an honorary doctorate. The garden honours children sent to residential schools and their families and expresses a commitment to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Learn more through Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams. For more information about this opportunity, contact canadianstudies@trentu.ca.

Durham GTA

In the days leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Trent Durham community is invited to take part in initiatives across campus designed to foster reflection, learning and dialogue. Community members are invited to contribute to a collective banner of care and support in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation. During these events, livestreams from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation will be shown, and displays will provide resources about the meaning and significance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Monday, September 21: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., Building A Atrium
Tuesday, September 22: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Building A Atrium
Wednesday, September 23: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Building A Atrium, with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Trivia from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, September 24: 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Library Atrium
Monday, September 28: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Library Atrium, with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Trivia from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 29: 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Building A Atrium

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

11:00 a.m. - Campus Ceremony, Medicine Garden*
11:30 a.m. - Three Sisters Lunch, Building A Atrium. While supplies last.
11:30 a.m. - Lecture with Memee Lavell-Harvard, Building A Atrium
12:30 p.m. - Community activities including beading, Orange Shirt support messages and rock painting, Medicine Garden*

*Weather permitting. Alternate location: Building A Atrium.

Trent Educational Resources

Wednesday, September 23 - Friday, October 2 | Bata Library Atrium: In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Bata Library Atrium will host a special display honouring the history, resilience, and ongoing legacy of Residential School Survivors, their families, and communities. The display features a curated selection of books on truth and reconciliation, Indigenous histories, and residential school experiences, alongside a digital display sharing information about Orange Shirt Day and the significance of September 30. Visitors can also find guidance to related online library resources, including e-books, databases, and streaming content, for further learning and reflection.
September 23: Faculty are invited to join Beyond September 30: Reflections on Reconciliation Through Education. This virtual interactive session will provide an opportunity to reflect on reconciliation in education, explore ways to support Indigenous students, and consider how these themes can inform teaching and learning. The session is facilitated by Mitch Huguenin, Education Developer - Indigenous Pedagogies. Register for the session.
Take a deeper look through Beyond September 30: Reflections on Reconciliation Through Education, a self-guided reading experience.
Read the Trent Teaching Commons' special issue of Teaching Notes for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Review the lesson plans created by the Trent School of Education to teach about residential schools.

Trent Statement of Solidarity

Canada has designated September 30 as a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is a day for everyone to reflect on the history between First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and settler Canadians and to further our understanding of the injustices of the last centuries. We are asked to make space for and understand the truth of Indigenous Peoples' experiences. We are asked to contemplate our own individual role in changing Canada and our communities into places of dignity and respect for Indigenous Peoples.

On this day, as an educational institution, we acknowledge the legacy of residential and day schools and the devastating impact they have had on Indigenous Peoples, their cultures, communities and families. We acknowledge and honour those who survived and who have worked hard to ensure that these actions never happen again. We mourn those who lost their lives in these places.

We use this day to recommit ourselves to a different future, to educating new generations of young people as future leaders of reconciliation. We use this day to recommit ourselves to assisting in the resurgence of Indigenous cultures, languages, traditions, knowledge and thought. We commit ourselves to building the world Chanie Wenjack was running towards.

Additional resources to learn and reflect

Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports - both the Calls to Action and the testimony of residential school survivors.
Review the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Archives and Collections.
Read about residential schools and their profound intergenerational impact, both before 1939 and to 2000.
Learn about the lands on which Trent is situated by viewing the Treaty Display located at the entrance of Bata Library in Peterborough and the Atrium at the Trent University Durham GTA campus.
Learn about Indigenous artists through the Gzowski College self-guided Anishinaabe Art Tour in Enwayaang. Brochures are available in the College Office.
Watch documentaries sharing stories and first-hand experiences of residential school survivors.
Learn about Manoomin and its importance to local First Nations.
Watch Waniska, an awakening of Indigenous Knowledge, and learn from Elders and residential school survivors about the importance of Indigenous Knowledge.
Read and learn from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Learn about the history of the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada.

Take action to support Indigenous communities

To support Indigenous communities and the principles of reconciliation, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation the Trent community is encouraged to take action and engage meaningfully in reconciliation:

Offer gratitude through a land acknowledgment.
Become knowledgeable about the local Michi Saagiig First Nations and their protocols.
Watch and learn from Elders about the importance of building relationships with Indigenous Peoples and the protocol of tobacco offerings as gift giving for knowledge sharing.
Learn about the lands on which Trent is situated.
Support Indigenous businesses, authors and artists.
Share calls to action with your whole family using the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada's Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The Trent community is encouraged to visit and read books and resources gathered by Trent's Bata Library.

Honouring National Day for Truth & Reconciliation