On Tuesday, Victoria, along with the rest of Canada will recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
A day to reflect on the oppressive colonial history of Canada, it reminds us how forced assimilation through initiatives like Indian Residential Schooling caused intergenerational trauma that has continued to affect Indigenous communities to this day.
On this day, September 30th each year, the country is trying to ensure the traumas suffered are not glossed over and are brought to the forefront of the dialogue when it comes to First Nations relations.
In honour of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we’ve compiled a list of ways in which you can show your support, leading up to and on the day of.
Here are 7 ways you can get involved and honour National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in and around Victoria:
Rhymes for Reconciliation: A Truth & Reconciliation Charity Show
- Where: Lucky Bar, 517 Yates Street
- When: Thursday, September 25th – 8 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Four Winds Celebration at Malahat SkyWalk
Join Malahat SkyWalk on September 27th & 28th from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. for Four Winds: A Celebration of Culture, Land & Connection, created in collaboration with Malahat Nation.
This special weekend invites guests to learn, share, and reflect through live performances, hands-on workshops, beadwork demonstrations, and more—all set among the trees on Vancouver Island.
Free with admission, all are welcome!
- Where: Malahat SkyWalk, 901 Trans-Canada Highway
- When: Saturday, September 27th & Sunday, September 28th – starts at 11 a.m.
An Evening for Truth and Reconciliation: Music, Art, and Dialogue
The evening will feature performances, conversation, and collaborative artmaking. Hip hop artist and filmmaker Nikky Ermineskin (Nikky E) will co-host alongside Ry Moran, guest faculty in Music and Reconciliation at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and one of Canada’s leading voices in Truth and Reconciliation.
Music will include performances by flutist Tyler Evans-Knott, singer-songwriter Colleen Eccleston, and Good Medicine, a group of Songhees youth sharing their culture through drumming, dancing, and song. Visual artists Francis Dick and Jesse Campbell will contribute their work, including the guitar that inspired Francis’ mural, which will be played during the evening. Francis and Jesse are the artist/muralist team who created the new mural located in the Conservatory parking lot at 900 Johnson Street.
- Where: Victoria Conservatory of Music, 900 Johnson Street
- When: Monday, September 29th – 7 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Victoria Orange Shirt Day
Orange Shirt Day is an annual national event that is held on September 30th in Canada.
It’s a day to honour Residential School survivors and their families, and to remember those that never made it.
This is an event that grew from Phyllis Webstad sharing her story in 2013 of having her shiny orange shirt taken from her at the age of six when she arrived at St. Joseph Mission residential school.
Her story created an opportunity for discussion on the aspects and experiences of the residential school legacy.
- Where: All across Victoria
- When: Tuesday, September 30th – all day
Free Reconciliation Day Ride
Honour the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation by learning about the impacts of colonialism and paying tribute to residential school survivors, their families, and communities, and taking part in a ride put on by Capital Bike.
Capital Bike recognizes this ride takes place on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen [lək̓ʷəŋən] Peoples, known today as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, and they invite everyone to come together in support, reflection, and a shared commitment to reconciliation.
Everyone is welcome, but registration is required – you can register here.
- Where: Kicks off at Songhees Park – ends at South Island Powwow at Royal Athletic Park
- When: Tuesday, September 30th – 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
South Island Pow Wow
The 4th annual South Island Powwow will return to downtown Victoria this September to honour healing and unity on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The event will take place on Tuesday, September 30th—a collaboration between the Songhees Nation and the City of Victoria.
Royal Athletic Park sits on the homelands of the lək̓ʷəŋən people, and offers a space for Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to come together to recognize the federal holiday, otherwise known as Orange Shirt Day.
- Where: Royal Athletic Park, 1014 Caledonia Avenue
- When: Tuesday, September 30th – 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Satya: A Practice of Truth & Reconciliation
Join MA Wellness and Yoga for an evening of nourishment through accessible pranayama, mantra and sound, and reflect on the second Yama in the 8 Limbs of Yoga: Satya, meaning “truthfulness”.
Pranayama breathwork and mantra will lay the foundation of the shared journey, and you’ll be guided through soothing Restorative shapes all while immersed in a sound bath featuring crystal bowls, drum, rattle and other instruments.
This class is accessible and by donation, with 100% of proceeds going to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS)]
- Where: MA Wellness and Yoga, 539 Herald Street
- When: Saturday, October 4th – 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
