Image courtesy of Anishinaabe visual artist Luke Swinson @lukeswinsonart

On September 30, Choral Canada staff will observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. They will participate in local Indigenous-led events, honouring and remembering the children that were torn away from their families for over 100 years and stripped of their traditions, languages, and cultural practices. The impacts continue to this day and we must listen and take action to support the Indigenous communities locally and across the country.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process rooted in action, both for us as individuals and as members of our communities. While Choral Canada has committed to amplifying the voices of Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island, we recognize that as an organization, we have more work to do.

We are committed to strengthening partnerships with our Indigenous colleagues while finding more respectful and effective ways to support and engage them through our programs and services. We continue working towards stronger Indigenous representation across our committees and leadership while looking at ways to better highlight their contributions.

We also acknowledge the importance of listening, continuous learning (and unlearning), and for those in positions of privilege, using that influence to take meaningful action.

Below is a list of events, organizations, resources, and learning opportunities related to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. This list is not exhaustive; we encourage you to use it as a starting point.

If you have an Indigenous-led initiative/communication that is national in scope and you would like us to share it, please get in touch with our Programs and Communications Manager, Colin Frotten, at [email protected].

​Support is available; former residential school students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports. Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat: https://www.hopeforwellness.ca/

Resources
 

• One Day’s Pay
  https://www.onedayspay.ca
  On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation give one day's pay or what you can afford to Indigenous-led projects, movements, organizations and nations.
  
  One Day’s Pay launched a grassroots campaign on September 30th, 2021, to mobilize settlers and non-Indigenous people in Canada to meaningfully recognize the tragic history and ongoing legacy of residential schools, and to honour their survivors, their families and communities. People across the country responded to One Day’s Pay's invitation to meaningfully act: raising close to $750,000 dollars for Indigenous led projects, movements, organizations and nations over the last three years.
  
  One Day’s Pay is guided by The Circle on Philanthropy, a national Indigenous led organization that works to transform the philanthropic sector to redistribute wealth, activate wisdom and strengthen organizational infrastructure for the purpose of Indigenous peoples, organizations, communities and nations.
   
• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Remembering the Children
  https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/parliament-hill
  In honour of the fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), APTN, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, CBC/Radio-Canada and the Algonquin Nation have united to produce a 90-minute multilingual commemorative gathering, entitled Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 
  
  The live National broadcast will begin at 3pm EDT on APTN and other supporting broadcasters.
   

• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: Lunch and Learn
  https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/lunch-and-learns
  The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation recently presented daily Lunch and Learn webinars – an immersive experience to UN-learn the myths of colonial history in Canada. Sessions were aimed at an adult audience and were hosted virtually over Zoom Webinar and streamed to YouTube. Check out the link to view the recordings of each session.
   

• Ancestors Voices: Music & Learning for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
  https://coalitioncanada.ca/en/ancestors-voices
  The Coalition for Music Education has launched a new program that introduces an Indigenous songwriter and their song to classrooms across the country. This curriculum-based music program is meant to acknowledge National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and to honour the children who didn’t return home, the survivors, and all others whose lives have been impacted by residential schools. The 2024 featured artist is award-winning singer-songwriter Julian Taylor.
   

• CBC News' Beyond 94
  https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/beyond-94
  A webpage dedicated to monitoring progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
   

• APTN 2024 Programming
  https://www.aptntv.ca/ndtr
  September 30th marks an important day for APTN as they broadcast special programs in honour of the survivors of residential, day, and boarding schools, alongside their families and the children who were never able to return home. Their informative and insightful series and documentaries will delve into the diverse culture and history of Indigenous Peoples.
   

• Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF): A Day To Listen
  September 30, 2024 | 6AM – 6PM Local Time
  https://downiewenjack.ca/a-day-to-listen
  In recognition of the NDTR on September 30, the DWF is proud to partner once again with major media outlets and radio stations throughout Canada for this special event. This year’s theme is All My Relations, a term used by some Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island to express that everything is interconnected. Humans, animals, insects, plants, and inanimate objects are all related. We are connected through ancestors, land, communities, air, water – everything.

  Guests will speak about Indigenous identity through conversations about representation in sports and entertainment, Indigenous comedy as culture and healing, merging traditional and contemporary fashion, the challenges of healthcare in the north and beyond, reconciliation as recolonization, and more. #DoSomething
   

• Culture Days NDTR Events
  https://culturedays.ca/en/resources/truth-and-reconciliation
  Culture Days has set September 30, 2024 aside to create space exclusively for events organized to commemorate the NDTR, including those aimed at sharing First Nations, Métis, and/or Inuit experiences and perspectives and uplifting the creative and cultural expressions of Indigenous people and communities. Find events happening across Turtle Island on September 30 and a list of resources to explore.
   

• Kanata: Contemporary Indigenous Artists and their Music – MusiCounts
  https://musicounts.ca/en/programs/musicounts-learn
  A learning resource that supports teachers in bringing Indigenous voices, perspectives, and music into classrooms.
   

• Indigenous Canada: CBC Music Playlist
  https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-music-playlists/37-indigenous-canada
  From roots and rock to hip hop and hand drums – Canadian Indigenous music is an invite to a cultural experience across all genres. Hear: Don Amero, Iskwe, A Tribe Called Red, Wolf Saga and more!