Where gatherings to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation are being held in B.C.

Thursday, Sept. 30will markthe first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation an annual commemoration honouring thechildren who died while attending residential schools and the survivors, families and communities still affected by the legacy of the residential school system.

The creation of the new federalstatutory holiday was approvedby Parliament days after theTk'emlps te Secwpemc First Nationconfirmed the discovery of roughly 200 potential burial sites, likely of children, on the groundsof a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

It coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which began in 2013 to honour those who attended residential schools.

Thursday is not a provincial holidayin B.C., but isfor federal government services and in federally regulated industries such as banking. Other organizations and businesses may choose to close.

Several communities across the province are holding gatherings and ceremonies on Thursday.

Vancouver

• Orange Shirt Day: Walk and Ceremony
• Grandview Park
• 9 a.m. PT

The Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre (VAFC)and the Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre (VACPC) are gathering with elders and their families on Thursday for a walk and ceremony at Grandview Park.

Attendees are asked to wear orange and meetat the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre at 9 a.m. PT.

• Orange Shirt Day: Drum ceremony
• Trout Lake
• 1:30 p.m. PT

TheNisga'a Ts'amiks Vancouver Societyis gathering at Trout Lake to honour the children who died at the Kamloops Indian Residential School,among many other children who died because ofresidential schools.

"We willpray and drum for the healing of our children, residential school survivors and their families," said the society, which is a non-profit community organization working to enhance the lives of Nisga'a citizens in the area.

The gathering begins at 1:30 p.m. PT.

• Intergenerational March
• University of British Columbia
• 11:45 a.m. PT

At the University of British Columbia, an intergenerational march is being held on the Vancouver campus.

Participants are invited to meet outside the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at 11:45 a.m. PT for bannock and tea before the march begins at noon.

The City of Vancouver is on the unceded territories of the xmkym (Musqueam), Swxw7mesh (Squamish), and slilwta (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Kamloops

• Drum for the Children
• Anywhere
• 2:15 p.m. PT

Tk'emlps te Secwpemchas issued a call to anybody, anywhere, to drum and sing in unison at 2:15 p.m. PTin honour of the children who never made it home from residential schools.

Participants are invited to learn the Secwepemc Honour Songwhich is available to learn here.

The City of Kamloops islocated on Tk'emlps te Secwpemc (TteS) territory, situated within the unceded ancestral lands of the Secwpemc Nation.

Mission

• Gathering with Phyllis Webstad
• Fraser River Heritage Park
• 11 a.m. PT

Sept. 30has been marked in past years asOrange Shirt Day, which originally started in 2013. Thedayhonours residential school survivorPhyllis Webstad, who was six years old whenher orange shirt was taken away from her on her first day at St. Joseph's Indian Residential School.

Webstad, of the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, will be a guest and speaker at a gathering at Fraser River Heritage Park.

The event begins at 11 a.m. PT. Attendees are asked to wear orange and bring their own chairs. Drums are also welcomed.

Victoria

• Xe xe Smun' eem - Victoria Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters Ceremony
• Centennial Square
• Noon to 2:30 p.m. PT

The community is invited to join in ceremony in Centennial Square on Thursday. The annual event, organized by residential school survivor Eddy Charlie and Kristin Spray, features Indigenous performers and speakers. TheOrange Shirt Day flag will be raised during the ceremony before a minute of silence to honour children who died at residential schools. The flag will then be lowered to half-mast.

Xe xe Smun' eem means "Sacred Children" in the Cowichan or Quw utsun language.

• National Reconciliation Day Ride
• Begins and ends at Centennial Square
• Noon to 3 p.m.

Victoria Orange Shirt Day and Capital Bikes are hosting a bike ride on Thursday, with stops at locations of significance to the Lekwungen and WSNE people. Organizers will share stories about each spot's history.

The City of Victoria is located on the traditional lands of thelkn People, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

Prince George

• Community gathering
• Lheidli T'ennehMemorial Park
• 2:15 p.m. PT

An outdoor gathering is being held in Prince George, B.C., on Thursday, though ithas been scaled back in response to high rates of COVID-19 transmission in the Northern Health region.

Drumming, singing and speeches to honour survivors and children who went missing from Canada's residential school system had been planned, but organizer Wesley Mitchell saidthey felt they shouldn't encourage large public gatherings.

Mitchell saidvendors have been cancelled for the event in Lheidli T'ennehMemorial Park, but there will be an informal drum circle and walk.

The City of Prince George is situated onthetraditional territory of the Lheidli T'enneh.

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.