09/29/2026
On September 30, TNDC honours the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. This day recognizes the harm inflicted on Indigenous Peoples in Canada through the residential school system, remembering the children who were forced to attend residential schools and the ongoing, intergenerational impacts on their families and communities.
TNDC and the federal government commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday. TNDC offices will be closed on September 30 in recognition of this important day. As an Indigenous business owned by the Tahltan Nation, this day holds even greater significance. Many Tahltans and their relatives were forced to attend residential schools. To further recognize this solemn day, we are encouraging the TNDC team and those we work with to deepen their understanding of Indigenous history and the legacy of Canada’s residential school system.
On September 30, we encourage everyone to wear orange, hold a moment of silence in remembrance of the children who never returned home and in honour of Survivors, and attend a local National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day event in support of truth and reconciliation in your community.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established by the Government of Canada in 2021 to honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, Survivors, and their families and communities who continue to be affected by the legacy of the residential school system.
Orange Shirt Day originates from the story of Phyllis Webstad of the Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation. In 1973, on her first day at St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., Phyllis’s new orange shirt was taken from her, never to be returned. She later shared her story publicly, helping inspire the Orange Shirt Day movement and the message Every Child Matters.
Residential schools were created and funded by the Canadian government and operated by churches. Their purpose was to assimilate Indigenous children and separate them from their cultures, traditions, languages and identities. Many children experienced physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse while attending these institutions.
To learn more, including links to resources, visit:
https://www.tndc.ca/honouring-lost-indigenous-children-uplifting-survivors-of-canadas-residential-schools/