Orange Shirt Day

In honour of Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we invite you to learn about Canada’s history in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, reflect on the legacy of the residential school system, and take action.

The Caring Society is pleased to partner again with Assembly of Seven Generations (A7G) and Beechwood Cemetery to offer another year of activities to honour Orange Shirt Day on September 30, 2025.

We will be offering Reconciling History walking tours and other activities to learn about the past and take action toward reconciliation.

Participants listen to young people from A7G giving Reconciling History tours at Beechwood Cemetery.

Events at Beechwood Cemetery

Join us from 2pm on at the Beechwood National Cemetery for an afternoon of activities to honour Orange Shirt Day this September 30, 2025.

Reconciling History Walking Tours

Click here to register for a Beechwood Walking Tour

Beechwood walking tours run hourly from 2:45 – 5:45.
These 45-minute tours take you through the grounds of Beechwood Cemetery to learn about the key figures involved in the residential school system, while also learning more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.
All tours are available in English; tours in French are available at 3:45 and 5:45.
A golf cart will be available to those who need assistance on the tour. An ASL interpreter will be available for some tours. Please check registration website for details.

Honouring Ceremony

At 2:15, a short ceremony will be held to acknowledge the children who never returned home from residential schools and to honour the survivors.

Action Tables

We invite you to visit an action table after the tour to make art and write letters to elected officials to help advance the Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-Spirit People Calls for Justice.

Art Exhibit

There will also be an art exhibit inside the Beechwood National Memorial Centre featuring works that engage with the TRC Calls to Action, reconciliation, and truth telling in respectful and thought-provoking ways. Artists can submit until September 7, 2025. Please visit this link to find out more.

Events Downtown Ottawa

We invite you to take a Reconciling History Walking Tour of Downtown Ottawa, hosted by A7G!

Tours start at 10am, 11am, 12 pm, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm. We kindly ask that you pre-register: Register here for Downtown Walking Tour

These 90-minute walking tours covering approximately 2km are an opportunity to learn more about the role of the federal government and bureaucracy in the residential school system and the lessons we can learn from history to address contemporary injustices experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

The tours start on Sparks St. near the Caring Society and end at Adaawewigamig, A7G's social enterprise location at 55 Byward Market Square. Please check back here, or check the registration page, for the exact starting location on Sparks St. closer to the date.

This year, Anishinabeg Ojibikan and Buffalo Culture Collective will be joining us along the tour to provide a deeper understanding of Indigenous peoples who continue to revitalize and reclaim cultures that have been stolen through colonial assimilation policies, such as Residential Schools. The Buffalo Culture Collective will also host a display of buffalo hides at the last point on the tour, Adaawewigamig. You won't want to miss it!

Please Note:

These tours are available in English only.
Unfortunately, due to the length of the tour, we cannot guarantee that the tour is accessible. If you do require accessibility supports, please email admin@a7g.ca; they will do their best to accommodate.

Other Ways to Participate in Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

For generations, residential school Survivors and their families have bravely shared the truth behind Canada’s Indian Residential School System. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission listened to these truths and created a roadmap to reconciliation in the form of 94 Calls to Action to redress the legacy of the residential school system. Within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the Commission called for a national day to honour First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children who both survived and who were lost to residential schools.

September 30^th is Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. To learn more about Orange Shirt Day, please visit the Orange Shirt Society's website and read Phyllis Webstad's story and listen to her message here. We encourage you to commit to honouring residential school survivors and their families and supporting the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by reading the 94 Calls to Action and identifying ways you can contribute to reconciliation. Children can participate by reading Spirit Bear's child-friendly guide to the TRC's Calls to Action and choosing an action to work on with others.

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for education, reflection, truth-telling and taking action, but you can get involved in reconciliation at any time of the year. If you are unable to join in on the in-person events hosted by the Caring Society or in your community, there are still a number of things you can do to honour the day from wherever you are!

Virtual Reconciling History Walking Tour

Take a Virtual Reconciling History Walking Tours through Downtown Ottawa

Learn:

The Reconciling History initiative invites people to learn from the past in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls to Action. Explore the Reconciling History Tour virtually and learn about the complete and true story of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Take Action:

Share the Reconciling History Tour on social media and share the ways that you’re committing to reconciliation. Be sure to tag us in your post ‪@caringsociety.bsky.social‬ @fncaringsociety on Instagram, and @FirstNationsChildandFamilyCaringSocietyofCanada on Facebook.

Watch The Good Canadian

What if there was a dark secret behind a national identity? The Good Canadian exposes the truth behind the idea of a True North strong and free. In this unflinching and eye-opening documentary, directors Leena Minifie and David Paperny move us through the corridors of systemic inequity, from the Indian Act to residential schools, to modern-day family separation. The Good Canadian challenges national myth-making, while offering Canadians the chance to forge a new identity from the truth. Watch Cindy Blackstock in The Good Canadian when it makes its debut September 30th on CBC, CBC GEM (8 p.m. ET), and APTN (9 p.m.). Produced by Leena Minifie and David Paperny.

This film is Rated 14+.

*Trigger warning: child removal, residential school images.

Same-day streaming on APTN lumi

Spirit Bear's guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Calls to Action

Letter Template

Write a letter for the full implementation of the TRC Calls to Action

Learn:

We encourage you to read through the Spirit Bear’s Guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action

Take Action:

Using the template provided, write letters to the Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament for the full implementation of the TRC Calls to Action. Mail may be sent postage-free to the Prime Minister and any Member of Parliament at the following addresses:

Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2

Name of Member of Parliament
House of Commons  
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

Find the name and mailing address of your MP

Watch Spirit Bear's film, Echoes of the Past, and Read Spirit Bear's Books

Watch Spirit Bear’s film Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past for free on Spirit Bear TV. This is the fourth film in the Spirit Bear film series, following Spirit Bear as he embarks on a much needed vacation to Songhees and Esquimalt territories (Victoria, British Columbia). Spirit Bear learns about Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce and what it means to reconcile history.

All of Spirit Bear's films are available to watch for free on Spirit Bear TV!

We also encourage you to read Spirit Bear's books: Spirit Bear and Children Make History, Spirit Bear: Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dreams, Spirit Bear: Honouring Memories, Planting Dreams and Spirit Bear: Echoes of the Past (available in French, English and select Indigenous languages).

If you want to take your learning to the next level, you can complete the associated learning guides, also available for free on Spirit Bear's Books & Learning Guides page.