Supporting Meaningful Learning on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is an opportunity for educators, students, and communities to pause, reflect, and learn. It is a day to honour residential school survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and recognize the lasting impact of the residential school system on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
To support meaningful learning and ongoing conversations about truth and reconciliation, The Manitoba Teachers’ Society has compiled a collection of resources for Orange Shirt Day. Below you’ll find lesson plans, book recommendations and stories from Indigenous educators that can help foster age-appropriate discussions and deepen yours and students’ understanding of Indigenous histories, cultures, and rights.
We invite all members to explore, learn, and take action on the path toward reconciliation. Whether you’re planning a classroom lesson, or seeking opportunities to engage with your local community, these curated materials are designed to support respectful, informed learning throughout Orange Shirt Day and beyond.
Explore Lesson Plans and Resources
- National Day for Truth & Reconciliation Lesson Plans
- Resistance on the Giimooch: The Life Story of Mary Courchene Lesson Plans
- Secret Path Lesson Plans
- Truth Before Reconciliation: Indigenous Law and Legal Orders
- Mino-pimatisiwin: Living the Good Life
- Listening to Survivors
- Remembering the Children
- Truth and Reconciliation Week
- Every Child Matters
- Truth and Reconciliation Week – Taking Truth to Action
Honouring Voices: Indigenous Educators Share Their Stories
In Kelsey Halldorson’s classroom, students introduce themselves in Ojibwe, sharing who they are, where they are from, their clan, and how they are feeling. For some, it’s a connection to a part of themselves they are beginning to discover. Read her full story here.
At the heart of reconciliation is listening. This collection of stories from Indigenous educators across Manitoba offers honest reflections on identity, culture, and teaching.
These voices provide valuable insight into the experiences, resilience and leadership of Indigenous educators while highlighting the important role education plays in advancing truth and reconciliation.
- Teaching Through Tradition with Janelle Houle
- Helping Students Find Their Way with Kathleen Vitt
- Reclaiming Roots Through Language with Kelsey Halldorson
- Personalizing Land Acknowledgements with Tawny Lanigan
- Empowering Students Culture with Marika Schalla
- Invisible Minority By Kathy Simcoe
- Finding Our Way Back Through a Lived Curriculum By Alison Lubinski
- Embracing Identity By Kerri Keffer
- Honouring Indigenous Perspectives and Values for True Reconciliation By Claudine Lambert
Recommended Books on Truth and Reconciliation
These books, rooted in Indigenous voices and experiences, offer age-appropriate, respectful, and meaningful entry points to Canada’s history of residential schools and the ongoing journey toward reconciliation.
Recommended books for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and adult (personal learning) can be found here.
New Orange Shirt Day Design
Earlier this year, The Society introduced a new Orange Shirt Day design created by Kae Maud.
In June, The Society introduced a new Orange Shirt Day design created by Kae Maud. Kae, artist name ‘Skultural,’ is an Indigenous Two-Spirit artist from Swan Lake First Nation whose work celebrates culture, identity and community through painting, digital design and murals.
For this design, Kae drew on both Indigenous teachings and the importance of education. At the centre is sweetgrass, which is one of four medicines alongside tobacco, sage, and cedar, braided around a child who is reading. The imagery reflects the belief that knowledge is sacred and so are children.
Adding to The Society’s colour palette, the design serves as a reminder of the role education can play in truth, healing and reconciliation.
Kae’s journey as an artist has also led them to begin teaching art to youth and collaborating with organizations on educational projects, which is especially meaningful.
“Designing shirts is a passion of mine, and it brings me joy to see my students and others wearing them.”
Learn more about Kae Maud and view their designs here.
The Orange Shirt Day Legacy
Orange Shirt Day – Every Child Matters is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, in May 2013. This project was the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who is a former student himself.
Following the commemoration event, former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad shared her story of her first day at residential school when her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year-old girl.
Her bright orange shirt symbolized love, excitement, and belonging. When it was taken away, it represented how the system tried to strip away identity, culture, and the fundamental truth that Every Child Matters.
September 30 was chosen for Orange Shirt Day because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes and their families to Indian residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year.
Learn more about Phyllis’ story in her own words here.
If you have events or resources that you would like to share, please send an email to coms@mbteach.org for consideration.