Truth and Reconciliation Week

A week to honour the real history of Canada and those who continue to fight for Truth and Reconciliation. Below, you can find events happening at the University of Winnipeg campus.

You can find a list of Indigenous Resources here: Indigenous History Month Resources. Please keep in mind that this list is growing.  

Suggested Readings: 

UWSA Reconciliation and Decolonization page: Reconciliation and Decolonization Page 

Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action: Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action 

Five Years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report and Calls to Action: https://theuwsa.ca/2020/12/5-years-trc/ 

Important Dates and Events

Monday, September 25 – Every Child Matter flag raising

UWinnipeg will raise the Every Child Matters flag in front of Wesley Hall at 10:00 a.m. Elder Sharon Pelletier will provide a prayer, followed by remarks by Dr. Todd Mondor, President and Vice-Chancellor, Tanis Kolisnyk, Aboriginal Student Services Centre Coordinator, and Jonathan Henderson, UWSA Vice-President of External Affairs.

Orange steel cut-outs in the shape of t-shirts will also be installed on the front lawn of campus, both on Monday, September 25 and Friday, September 29. Local artist Kendra Gierys created this installation.

Panel Discussion

Following the flag raising, Drs. Mary Jane McCallum and Karen Froman will be hosting a panel discussion, Critical Reflections on Residential School Histories, in Eckhardt Gramatté Hall from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend

Wednesday, September 27

Feast

The University of Winnipeg Indigenous Students’ Association is hosting a feast at 12:30 p.m. in the Aboriginal Student Services Centre Lounge. All are welcome.

Friday, September 29

Office of Indigenous Engagement table

The Office of Indigenous Engagement will have a table set up in front of Wesley Hall* from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They’ll be distributing Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action booklets, shirts, and stickers. The UWSA will have a smudgin station too.

And, in partnership with the UWSA, the Office of Indigenous Engagement will also be giving away orange shirts with artwork provided by local artist Kaelan Linklater-Anderson and accepting donations for the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre’s annual September 30 youth event.

Artist Kendra Gierys’ steel cut-outs of orange t-shirts will also be installed again on the front lawn of Wesley Hall.

*In the event of rain, the table will be moved to the 2nd floor of Centennial Hall next to the escalators.

Wear your orange shirt

We also encourage all UWinnipeg faculty, staff, and students to wear orange shirts on this day.

Orange Shirt Day began in Williams Lake, BC, in 2013 as a commemorative event for the Survivors of St. Joseph Mission Residential School. The idea of wearing shirts to remember the experiences of Survivors came from the story of Phyllis Webstad. In 1974, at the age of six, Phyllis was forced to attend St. Joseph Mission. She was proud to wear a brand-new orange shirt to school that day but, upon arrival, it was cruelly stripped from her and never returned.

Orange Shirt Day has grown to represent the generations of stolen children who never came home, the resilience and strength of Survivors, and the courage of families as they work to reclaim their own stories and traditions.

Saturday, September 30 – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day 

The University of Winnipeg campus will be closed. There are no classes on this day.