National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026 — Orange Shirt Day Guide

Last reviewed: September 10, 2026. Powwow Times welcomes corrections and additional context from Survivors, Indigenous educators, and community organizations.

Orange Shirt Day and Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation are observed annually on September 30. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation announces Truth and Reconciliation Week dates, programs and registration information each year.

Orange Shirt Day is a grassroots, Indigenous-led movement rooted in the story of residential school Survivor Phyllis Webstad. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory day established in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 80. They share the same date, but the federal holiday did not replace Orange Shirt Day or the movement that created it.

Quick answer: Powwow Times offers in-person and live digital programming for Orange Shirt Day, Truth and Reconciliation Week, and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Organizations can request talks, facilitated discussions, keynotes, powwow dance and singing, consent-based Survivor speakers, and appropriately led workshops. Digital options include live speeches, keynotes, discussions and powwow performances. Programs can be built for corporations, public agencies, schools, colleges, universities, conferences and community organizations across Alberta, Canada and internationally.

Truth and Reconciliation programs available through Powwow Times

Program	Delivery	Best suited to
Talk, discussion or keynote	In person or live digital	Employee learning, leadership gatherings, conferences, classrooms and public programs
Powwow dance performance with context	In person or live digital	Assemblies, conferences, organizational events and programs connecting learning with living culture
Powwow singing	In person; digital delivery may be available by scope	Programs where singers approve the format, context, recording and audience
Survivor talk	In person or live digital, subject to the speaker	Trauma-aware programs that centre a Survivor’s voice, consent, preferred topics, boundaries and support needs
Facilitated workshop	Primarily in person; selected formats may be digital	Smaller groups seeking active learning, discussion or making
Monthly live learning subscription	Live digital	Organizations committed to learning throughout the year rather than on one commemorative date

In-person talks, performances and workshops

Powwow Times can shape an in-person program around the audience, location, learning goals and people available to lead it. Options may include:

• speeches, keynotes and facilitated discussions;
• powwow dance performances with explanation and cultural context;
• powwow singing where the singers approve the setting and use;
• talks from residential school Survivors when a willing speaker is available and the event honours their boundaries, compensation and support needs;
• talking-circle formats where the facilitator determines that the approach is appropriate for the group and purpose;
• beading or feather-making workshops with the materials, teachings and permissions defined by the facilitator;
• tipi raising and teachings where the location, weather, equipment, facilitator and cultural scope are suitable; and
• interactive history workshops, including a KAIROS Blanket Exercise only when the required KAIROS partnership, Indigenous leadership and trained facilitation are in place.

The KAIROS Blanket Exercise program states that its exercises are Indigenous-led and delivered with trained partner facilitators. Powwow Times will not describe a workshop as a KAIROS Blanket Exercise unless those delivery and licensing requirements are confirmed. An alternative interactive workshop can be scoped separately and named accurately.

Use the Truth and Reconciliation workshop options guide to compare facilitated discussions, talking-circle formats, beading, feather-making, tipi raising and teachings, and the specific requirements for a KAIROS Blanket Exercise.

Not every cultural component is appropriate for every audience or event. The people leading the program decide what they can share, what the host must provide and whether photography, livestreaming or recording is permitted.

Live digital programming for teams anywhere

Organizations with multiple offices, campuses, classrooms or countries can bring people into one live digital experience. Powwow Times can deliver speeches, keynotes, discussions and powwow dance performances online, with the final format built around the speaker or performers, audience size, platform, accessibility and media permissions.

Explore the complete virtual Truth and Reconciliation program planning guide, live Indigenous cultural presentations for corporate teams, virtual powwow performances and livestream production for Truth and Reconciliation events.

What Is Orange Shirt Day?

Orange Shirt Day grew from the 2013 St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion in Williams Lake, British Columbia. It is rooted in residential school Survivor Phyllis Webstad’s account of having her new orange shirt taken from her at age six; the Orange Shirt Society says Phyllis and other founding members created the day in 2013.

Read Phyllis Webstad’s story in her own words through the Orange Shirt Society. The Society identifies her as Northern Secwépemc from Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation.

Why September 30?

September was traditionally the time when many children were taken from their families and sent to residential schools. September 30 creates space at the beginning of the school year for public learning, remembrance, and action.

The Orange Shirt Society explains the movement and its purpose on its official Orange Shirt Day page.

What Does “Every Child Matters” Mean?

“Every Child Matters” affirms the inherent worth of every child. In the context of Orange Shirt Day, it honours residential school Survivors, remembers the children who never returned home, and recognizes the families and communities still living with the system’s effects.

The orange shirt is connected to Phyllis Webstad’s experience and has become a public symbol of the culture, freedom, identity and self-esteem taken from Indigenous children in residential schools. The phrase is a call to listen to Survivors, learn the truth about the residential school system, protect children, and connect remembrance with continuing action.

What Is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?

Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed every September 30. The federal statutory day was created in 2021 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 80. It honours residential school Survivors, their families and communities, remembers the children who never returned home, and keeps public learning about the history and continuing legacy of residential schools in view.

In 2026, September 30 falls on a Wednesday. The day is connected to Orange Shirt Day, but the federal statutory observance did not replace the grassroots movement founded in 2013.

Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The two observances are connected but not identical:

• Orange Shirt Day is a grassroots movement led by Indigenous people and grounded in Phyllis Webstad’s experience.
• The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory day created in 2021 in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 80.
• Both are observed September 30 and call people to remember, learn, listen to Survivors, and take responsibility for continuing reconciliation work.

See the Government of Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation information and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports.

Truth and Reconciliation Week

In 2026, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is offering a free virtual Truth and Reconciliation Week program from September 21 to 25 for schools across Canada. The program is available in English, French and ASL, and registration is required.

Use the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s current Truth and Reconciliation Week site for the latest schedule, registration information, recordings and educator resources. Verify the schedule on the official site before sharing it, because dates, audiences, formats and accessibility services can change each year.

Continue reconciliation learning throughout the year

A single September 30 event can open a conversation, but it cannot carry an organization’s full reconciliation commitment. Powwow Times also offers an ongoing subscription built around one live webinar each month. Sessions can bring organizations together with respected Indigenous Elders, speakers, authors, athletes, industry leaders and change makers so participants keep learning in community across the year.

Guest participation is always subject to the individual person’s agreement and availability. Organizations interested in the subscription can start a year-round learning conversation with Powwow Times and describe their audience, priorities and annual learning calendar.

Free weekly learning resources

Organizations and individuals can begin learning immediately with two free resources:

• 52 Weeks of Cree: free weekly lessons that introduce Cree language learning one step at a time.
• Foundational Knowledge: weekly, bite-sized Truth and Reconciliation learning designed to give readers one topic to understand, discuss and carry forward.

Share the resources with a team, class or learning group, but avoid treating completion as proof that reconciliation work is finished. Use the lessons to build questions, support further learning and connect knowledge to organizational decisions and relationships.

Choose the right starting point

• Need a September event: request an in-person or live digital talk, keynote, discussion or performance.
• Need active learning: discuss an appropriately led workshop and the group size, time, facilitator and support requirements.
• Need national or international reach: choose live digital delivery or livestream a larger event.
• Need lasting progress: combine September programming with monthly live learning and the free weekly resources.

Contact Powwow Times with your date, location, audience and learning goal.

Ways to Take Action This September 30

• Listen to Survivors and Indigenous-led organizations.
• Use educational materials created or reviewed by Indigenous educators and communities.
• Attend a local Nation- or community-led event when it welcomes the public.
• Learn whose territory and treaty area you live in, then continue beyond a land acknowledgement.
• Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and identify responsibilities connected to your school, workplace, profession, or government.
• Support Indigenous-led organizations and Survivor services.
• Continue learning and acting throughout the year, not only on September 30.

Continue learning with Powwow Times’ guide to understanding powwow culture and terminology, which addresses respectful language and common misconceptions.

How to Observe Orange Shirt Day in Schools

Learning about residential schools must be age-appropriate, accurate, and trauma-aware. Educators should not ask Indigenous students to speak for their communities or disclose personal and family experiences. Avoid simulations, role-playing residential school experiences, or assignments that turn trauma into a classroom exercise.

The Orange Shirt Society provides official guides and learning resources. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation provides records and its 2026 virtual school program from September 21 to 25 in English, French and ASL. Powwow Times also shares Indigenous education resources for schools grounded in clearly attributed Treaty 6 Cree teachings.

Begin with materials created by Survivors and Indigenous-led organizations. Tell students where the learning comes from, distinguish the experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples where sources do so, and explain that no single speaker or community represents every Indigenous Nation.

• Give families advance notice that the lesson addresses residential schools and provide a way to request support.
• Share the content notice and support resources at the top of this page with staff and age-appropriate audiences.
• Invite a Survivor, Elder, Knowledge Keeper or Indigenous educator only through respectful relationships, clear consent and fair compensation.
• Do not require Indigenous students or staff to lead the lesson, wear orange, answer personal questions or represent their communities.
• Connect September 30 learning to responsibilities that continue throughout the school year.

Truth and Reconciliation Activities for Classrooms

Classroom activities should help students listen, learn, reflect and act. Select resources for the students’ ages and your local curriculum, and involve local Indigenous educators or community partners when a relationship already exists.

• Learn from a first-person source: read or watch Phyllis Webstad’s account through the Orange Shirt Society, then ask students to identify what respectful listening requires.
• Locate the learning: identify the First Nation, Inuit or Metis communities connected to the place where the school stands, using sources those communities publish.
• Study the Calls to Action: choose an age-appropriate Call to Action connected to education and discuss who is responsible for it.
• Join national learning: register for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s free 2026 school programming and use its educator resources.
• Plan continuing action: create a class learning calendar that extends beyond September 30 and includes Indigenous authors, histories and present-day voices.
• Attend a public event: participate only when the host Nation or Indigenous organization has invited the public, and follow the event’s guidance.

Orange Shirt Day Crafts and Learning Ideas

A making activity should support learning, not reduce residential school history to decoration. Teach the meaning first, use Indigenous-created resources, and avoid costumes, reenactments, trauma simulations or generic pan-Indigenous symbols.

• Create an orange-shirt paper artwork and ask each student to add a short, age-appropriate reflection about dignity, safety or a responsibility they can carry forward.
• Build a class commitment display based on actions students can revisit during the year, rather than a one-day slogan wall.
• Respond to a book, video or Survivor testimony selected from an Indigenous-led resource guide through writing, drawing or discussion.
• Use orange as a visual prompt for a lesson on Phyllis Webstad’s story, then connect the activity to the official source rather than presenting the symbol without context.

Official Shirts, Artwork, and the Every Child Matters Mark

The Orange Shirt Society owns the registered trademark EVERY CHILD MATTERS and copyrights the official annual shirt designs. Before using the phrase, Society logos, official designs, or associated assets in merchandise, advertising, events, fundraising, printed materials, or digital media, review the Society’s terms and licensing requirements and obtain any required permission through its licensing portal.

Use the Society’s official merchandise information to find approved options and understand how proceeds are used.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Orange Shirt Day the same as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?

No. Orange Shirt Day is a grassroots Indigenous-led movement. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory day. They are connected and observed on the same date.

When is Orange Shirt Day?

Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation are observed annually on September 30.

Who started Orange Shirt Day?

The movement is rooted in Phyllis Webstad’s residential school experience and the community work that grew around her story. Link to her own account when sharing its history.

Can non-Indigenous people participate?

Yes. Participation should centre listening, accurate learning, support for Survivor- and Indigenous-led work, and action that continues after September 30.

Is wearing orange enough?

Wearing orange can show support, but reconciliation requires more than a symbol. Learn from Survivors, understand the Calls to Action, support Indigenous-led work, and identify responsibilities within your own institutions and relationships.

Sources and Corrections

This page prioritizes the Orange Shirt Society, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and official Government of Canada information. Contact Powwow Times to suggest a correction, share an official community event, or identify language that should be reviewed.

Research updated September 10, 2026. Verify annual event schedules and registration details through the linked official sources before promotion.