September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. It is an important day to acknowledge and honour the generational and inter-generational survivors of residential schools and those who did not make it home.
This provides the NAIT community with an opportunity to:
NAIT will observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a series of online and in-person events and workshops in September and October. A formal flag-lowering ceremony will be held on September 29.
Leading up to Orange Shirt Day, we encourage everyone to wear an orange shirt throughout the week of September 25 to show our shared commitment toward truth and reconciliation.
See below for events and activities, workshops and ways to participate.
September 21, 2023
September 30, 2023
October 2, 2023
Check out books and works by Indigenous writers. The roaming library display will be located around campus throughout the month of September. Take the opportunity to chat with one of our NAIT Librarians and explore amazing Indigenous thinkers.
Join the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Reading towards Reconciliation virtual series. We will be reading and discussing Chelsea Vowel’s book Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada to further our knowledge about historical and current issues facing Indigenous peoples.
Register
The Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre invites you to register for the Pîkiskwetân (Let's Talk) Sharing Circle Series. The Pîkiskwetân Sharing Circle Series supports the Connecting the Four Directions document and our continued efforts towards Truth and Reconciliation. This series is a powerful way to share truths and come together as a community to learn.
Learn more
To mark Aboriginal Awareness Day, we invite you to our flag raising ceremony which will include speeches and a blessing by an elder.
Copyright laws as they exist today do not adequately protect Indigenous knowledge. However, Canada's system has some space to recognize and integrate Indigenous laws, as was called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commision in 2015. Join Meera Nair to learn more.
RSVP to Meera Nair at meeran@nait.ca
Learn from three successful Indigenous leaders in business for a panel discussion. Our panelists include Curtis Cardinal, owner and operator of Tee Pee Treats, Carrie Armstrong, an award-winning Métis business woman and founder of Mother Earth Essentials, and Lisa Ladouceur, a Métis Artisan.
We invite you to join our flag lowering ceremony and moment of silence to commemorate the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and reflect on the ongoing legacy of institutionalized colonial violence. Attendees will be encouraged to wear an Orange Shirt.
NAIT students and staff will be encouraged to write their reflections on what Truth and Reconciliation means to them. These will be collected and presented to the Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre at the end of the day.
If students are unable to come to campus and would like to submit what Truth and Reconciliation means to them, they can email their reflections to owl@nait.ca and they will be written on an orange shirt that will be included.
Registration is not required.
The Nîsôhkamâtotân Centre is having a free Stew and Bannock lunch this Friday, September 29th at 11:30am in E121. In honor of Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Centre is also hosting a presentation on the History of Residential Schools on Friday at 2pm.
Meet the author of Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada book Chelsea Vowel for a Q & A session (and a prize draw for three lucky participants!)
Honouring the Ground that Holds Us: Writing a Personalized Land Acknowledgement
Join Natasha Pinterics from the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to learn how to create a land acknowledgement that explores your own self-location and honours your personal commitments to truth and reconciliation.
We encourage you to download one of our Orange Shirt Day teams backgrounds.
Orange Background White Background Photo Background
Stew & Bannock will be available for purchase on the Chef’s Table at Common Market on September 27, 2023 from 10:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Want to learn more about residential schools and truth and reconciliation? We've compiled some recommended reading here:
A community gathering place where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students can gather to network, study and share their post-secondary learning experiences.
Education and emotion collide in the unsettling history of colonization