National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at York University

A Call to Listen and Learn 10 years Since the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action

Attend a Lunch ‘n’ Learn webinar streaming from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at various locations daily, September 24 – 26 at 1 pm (Register at yorku.ca/go/lunchandlearns):

Monday, Sept 22: Surviving the Residential School System
Tuesday, Sept 23: Uncovering the Truth: Ground Searches
Wednesday, Sept 24: The Ongoing Legacy of the Residential School System through Child Welfare
Thursday, Sept 25: Reflecting on the TRC’s Calls to Action 10 Years Later
Friday, Sept 26: Confronting Residential School Denialism

Attend the University Commemorative Event on September 30 in person (Helliwell Centre, Osgoode Hall) or online, beginning at 10 am. In person attendees will be invited after the event to attend a ceremonial fire and reception with refreshments at Skennen’kó:wa Gamig. Register: Yorku.ca/go/Truth&Reconciliation.

You can find more information on the planned events in the Events section on the right.

We invite you to download the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Zoom background.

Events:

York University Bookstore

We invite everyone to join the journey toward education and reconciliation by purchasing and wearing an orange shirt. The York University Bookstore is a committed partner of the Orange Shirt Society, which will benefit from proceeds from the sale of the orange shirts.

Truth and Reconciliation Collection

Resources

Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports and Calls to Action (Rapports)
Read the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls final report (le rapport final de l’Enquête nationale sur les femmes et les filles autochtones disparues et assassinées), the 231 Calls for Justice (Les appels à la justice) and the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan: Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (Le Plan d’action national 2021 pour les femmes, les filles et les personnes 2ELGBTQQIA+ autochtones disparues et assassinées) that responds to the final report.
Read the Spirit Bear Plan (Le Plan de Spirit Bear) from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.
Universities Canada Principles on Indigenous Education (Les universités canadiennes principes en matière d’éducation des Autochtones)
The Assembly of First Nations: It’s Our Time Toolkit
Orange Shirt Society
Lighting the Fire: Experiences of Indigenous Faculty in Ontario Universities

Learn about Indigenous Initiatives at York
Nisitohtamowin ᓂᓯᑐᐦᑕᒧᐃᐧᐣ An Introduction to Understanding Indigenous Perspectives in Canada is a course from First Nations University of Canada, with partners BMO and Reconciliation Education and is available free to the public until September 2025.
University of Alberta course: Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson massive open online course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. From an Indigenous perspective, this course explores key issues facing Indigenous Peoples today from a historical and critical perspective, highlighting national and local Indigenous-settler relations. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free.
The Indigenous Knowledge Implementation Packsack: A Handbook for Embedding Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Your Teaching

Donate to a York Indigenous-specific scholarship or bursary.
Support an Indigenous Business
Write to elected representatives.
Attend Indigenous community events with respect and openness.
Read books, watch films or television programs and view art by Indigenous Peoples.
- Toronto Public Library “Read Indigenous” List
- National Film Board of Canada’s Indigenous Cinema Collection
- Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
- Art Gallery of Ontario Indigenous Collection
- CBC Gem I ndigenous Stories Collection
- Get more ideas from the book 52 Ways to Reconcile, available through the York Libraries

Support is available for survivors and those affected through the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066 or on the 24-hour crisis line at 1-866-925-4419. You can also visit their website here.
York University’s Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education serves all York community members by empowering survivors and providing access to needed supports. The Centre staff are available 24 hours a day at 416-736-5211
There are a variety of supports available to the York community listed on the Well-being at York website.

IRSSS Services: Counselling, therapy, healing, coaching, workshops, traditional healing methods/medicines, etc. https://www.irsss.ca/services
Hope for Wellness Help Line: 1-855-242-3310 (available 24 hours, in English, French, Cree, Ojibway, Inuktitut)
Health Canada Help Line: 1-866-925-4419
Health Canada’s Northern Region: 1-800-464-8106
NWAC Elder Support Line Canada Wide: (M-F 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm): 888-664-7808

York University Libraries

The York University Libraries team has curated a collection of books you are invited to read as you learn about and reflect on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Truth and Reconciliation Collection

Live Streams

2025

2023
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Speaker Reflections Panel

September 28, 2023

2022
Reclaiming and Rewriting Indigenous Histories of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas)

September 29, 2022

2022
Reflecting on the Legacies of Residential Schools: What it means for our present and our futures

September 30, 2022

2021
Reflections on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 30, 2021

Feature Films & Documentaries

Download the List

Podcasts: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

September 2022. 46min.

Weekly.

A fearless space for Indigenous voices. Join Rosanna Deerchild every Friday for vibrant conversations with our cousins, aunties, elders, and heroes. Rosanna guides us on the path to better understanding our shared story. Together, we learn and unlearn, laugh and become gentler in all our relations.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-105-unreserved

Listen Now

2024

An 8-part series that tells the stories of four students: three who survived and one who didn’t. They attended one of Canada’s most notorious residential schools – where unsolved deaths, abuse, and lies haunt the community and the survivors to this day. Hosted by Duncan McCue.

Listen Now

2020

“Residential Schools” is a three-part podcast series created by Historica Canada and hosted by Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais. It aims to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools, and honour the stories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Survivors, their families, and communities.

Listen Now

Ongoing/Regular new episodes

Welcome to the Relentless Indigenous Woman podcast—a space for uncensored and unapologetic conversations on the lived realities of Indigenous Peoples. Hosted by Dr. Candace Linklater, a proud Moose Cree First Nation educator, advocate, and scholar, this podcast invites you to listen, grow, and take meaningful action.

https://open.spotify.com/show/6iLA4Gwna3XqLfKVEwYnmW?si=3f776b9a30814fe5

Listen Now

2023

In this podcast episode, Candace delves into the significance of Truth and Reconciliation and initiating the process of decolonization. She emphasizes the need for non-Indigenous individuals to engage in self-reflection, learning, and taking actionable steps towards change. Candace also extends a message to Indigenous Peoples, encouraging them to prioritize self and community care while participating in discussions about the intergenerational survival of Residential Schools.

Listen Now

2021

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel anthology, This Place is a 10-part journey through one-hundred and fifty years of Indigenous resistance and resilience. Through dramatizations and interviews, along with your host and time-guide storyteller Rosanna Deerchild, the series reveals the heroes, battles, triumphs and traditions which live outside and beyond the national story we have been taught ... to learn, to share, and to heal the future of "this place" we call Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1020-this-place

Listen Now

2024

Words connect us. Words hurt us. Indigenous histories have been twisted by centuries of colonization. Host Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/906-telling-our-twisted-histories

Listen Now

2025

Kīwew is a five-part podcast in which Governor General award-winning author David A. Robertson dives into his family's history and mysteries as he discovers and connects with his Cree identity.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/425-kiwew

Listen Now