Saturday marks 10 years of Orange Shirt Day and three years since National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was formally recognized as a statutory holiday in Canada.
This week several organizations in Hamilton, Niagara, Six Nations of the Grand River and surrounding areas have been reflecting on a time when generations of children were forced to go to residential schools.
The holiday is one of 94 calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and is intended to honour and commemorate Indian Residential School survivors as well as those children who didn’t make it home.
While people are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on Saturday, they can also engage in the holiday via events across Southern Ontario.
Here are a few in the Hamilton-Niagara area.
Hamilton
Hamilton’s newest public art piece titled “All Our Relations” will be unveiled Saturday at the West Harbour.
The artwork is a collaborative effort involving local Indigenous artist Angela DeMontigny and a team of others featuring five striking 40-foot panels adorned with thousands of vibrant glass beads. The beads symbolize traditional Indigenous teachings, the Thanksgiving Address, and the abundant biodiversity found in Hamilton.
The event runs between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
McMaster University’s planetarium continues a run of “The Celestial Bear: The Six Nations’ Night Sky” on Saturday showing off an Indigenous-focused night sky. Funds from the sales will go to a local Indigenous non-profit organization.
Meanwhile, the McMaster Museum of Art will host “Chasm,” an exhibition that “takes the unique vantage point of critiquing the power dynamics of colonialism from within the museum.”
The Westdale will have a pair of free showings Saturday beginning with some National Film Board shorts including Second Stories, a short documentary exploring the legacy of residential schools through the eyes of two women who lived it.
Also featured will be Holy Angels, and Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again.
The showings are at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday and last some 69 minutes.
A screening of The Nature of Healing: Surviving the Mohawk Institute will take place Saturday at the Westdale with sittings at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The Hamilton Regional Indian Centre will hold its second annual Truth and Reconciliation event at Gage Park on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will welcome renowned hoop dancer Lisa Odjig for a special presentation as well as a drum circle and performance during halftime of their game against the Calgary Stampeders.
Over 250 Indigenous youth and families from local communities including Six Nations, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and surrounding communities will attend the game.
Select jerseys will be available for purchase in the Ticats shop at a later date, with proceeds benefitting the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre.
Burlington
As part of Orange Shirt Day, residents in the Burlington area can come to Spencer Smith Park where local Indigenous people will commemorate the day from the pavilion at the east end of the park.
Participants are encouraged to wear orange shirts and moccasins if they have them.
The event starts at 12:45 p.m.
Brantford
Brantford Native Housing is hosting a free Truth and Reconciliation social at Mohawk Park.
The second annual event includes drumming, dancing and singing.
Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg, a Hamilton-based non-profit organization, will be on-site and providing insight into “high-quality programs and services across the entire life cycle to the Indigenous population.”
Niagara Falls
On Saturday, the City of Niagara Falls will raise the Every Child Matters Flag and lower it to half-staff.
The observance will commence at 11 a.m. with members of the public and Indigenous communities on hand at the Rosberg Flag Poles across the street from City Hall.
The event will close out with a moment of silence and the unveiling of an orange bench donated by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
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