Each year, Sept. 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on Sept. 30.
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters.” The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
You are invited to join York Regional Police and representatives of the Chippewas of Georgina Island at our annual Candlelight Vigil on Monday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. This vigil will be held at the YRP Marine Unit (57 Lorne St, Jackson's Point). There will also be a hoop dance performance by Makhena Rankin Guerin. To acknowledge this important day, we encourage everyone to attend and wear orange to honour the children who never returned home.