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Resources for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

Edmonton Fringe
By Edmonton Fringe

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

We recognize that Truth and Reconciliation is not contained to one day; it is an ongoing practice. Today and every day, we consider our responsibility as Treaty people.

Below, please find an incomplete and evolving list of resources in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation.

The resources below explore a difficult history of the violent colonization and genocide of Indigenous peoples. This is not a distant history. It continues to adversely impact Indigenous communities today. The ripple of that impact will be felt for generations.

We invite you to please listen, learn, unlearn, reflect, and, when you are ready, take action.

Questions? Have a resource you’d like to see added to this list? Please reach out: hello@fringetheatre.ca.

2026 EVENTS:

September 24

  • Films at the Library: nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
    Free/no registration
    6:30 – 8:30pm
    Join us at the library for a wide variety of films. This time we will be screening the documentary nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (with Cree subtitles), from the National Film Board, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.Sensitively directed by Tasha Hubbard, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up follows the family of the late Colten Boushie, a young Cree man fatally shot in a Saskatchewan farmyard, as they demand justice from Canada’s legal system. August 9th marked 10 years since Boushie’s death.

September 27

  • 6th Annual Orange Shirt Day Run/Walk
    Cost based on run
    12 – 6pm 
     6th Annual Run/Walk to honor our little ancestors who did not survive the Residential school era and in support and solidarity for the survivors who fight every day for healing and justice. This event aims to raise funds for the Orangeshirtday.org as well as local grassroots movements including promoting and supporting Indigenous athletes in the running community. This will be a combination of pavement and trail run through the beautiful YEG river valley trails starting at Kinsmen Park and includes three distances of 5 & 10 km and a Elder/Kids 2.15 km.

  • Pilgramage for Reconciliation and Renewal with Lewis Cardinal
    Free
    12 – 4pm 
    Join us in person for a meaningful journey led by Lewis Cardinal. This pilgrimage is all about coming together, reflecting, and embracing renewal through sincere reconciliation. Whether you’re seeking inspiration or community, this event offers a chance to connect on a deeper level. Don’t miss out on this special experience! 

September 29

  • Returning to Ourselves, a collective healing, hosted by Aboriginal Counseling Services of Alberta
    Free
    12:30 – 4pm
    Join us for an afternoon of reflection, healing, and connection as we come together to recognize the importance of Truth and Reconciliation. The event will begin with an opening led by an Elder, including prayer and a traditional smudge ceremony. Guests are invited to enjoy complimentary soup, bannock, treats, and Medicine Hearts while connecting with community members in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Whether you are Indigenous or non-Indigenous, everyone is welcome to participate in this meaningful gathering as we honour the past, celebrate resilience, and strengthen our commitment to reconciliation.

September 30

  • Truth First: Transforming Curriculum through Indian Residential School Truth  
    Keynote: Dr. Verna St. Denis – Hosted by kihew-waciston Macewan University
    Free/book ticket
    830am-1130am
    Truth First: Transforming Curriculum Through Indian Residential School Truths is a survivor-centred gathering designed for educators, leaders, and community partners committed to advancing truth, reconciliation, and meaningful change in education. This event centres the recommendations of the Indian Residential School Committee at MacEwan University and invites participants to reflect critically on current practices and reimagine curriculum in ways that are truthful, respectful, responsive, and culturally grounded. Through Survivor-centred reflection, community dialogue, research findings, and artistic expression, the gathering will highlight pathways for weaving Indigenous knowledge, voices, and perspectives into teaching and learning in authentic ways. Participants will leave with practical tools, strategies, and a renewed sense of responsibility to embed truth into everyday teaching practice—moving beyond awareness toward meaningful transformation. Hot breakfast will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. 

    This initial registration period is intended for the MacEwan University community. Additional registration information will be shared as available. 

  • Honoring the Walk of Healing Through Stories hosted by Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society
    No registration required
    9am – 3pm
    It has been over ten years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its 94 Calls to Action—a reminder that reconciliation is an ongoing responsibility. On this day, we honour the children who never returned home, the survivors of residential schools, and their families. Bent Arrow will be hosting a free community event, offering a space to learn, reflect, and hear the truths lived by Indigenous peoples after the formation of Canada. This year’s theme is: Honouring the Walk of Healing: Through Stories Join us for entertainment, crafts and activities, keynote speakers, and breakout storytelling sessions on the past and future of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island. The event will be hosted in Bent Arrow’s gymnasium, located at 11648 85 Street, Edmonton, Alberta. 
  • Fort Edmonton Park – National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
    Admission is $5/guest and under age 11 is free 
    9:30 – 4:30pm
    In partnership with the City of Edmonton, the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park will be open as a ticketed event on Wednesday, September 30, offering you an opportunity to learn the truths of Indigenous life before and after the formation of Canada.

    The full schedule is available on their website
  • Art Gallery of Alberta
    Admission
    12:30-1:30pm Curator’s Tour: What Shapes Us
    Join us on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for a special curator-led tour of What Shapes Us, led by Alaynee Goodwill-Littlechild, TD Curator of Indigenous Creativity at the Art Gallery of Alberta. 1:30-2:30pm Reciprocity Garden with Alaynee Goodwill-Littlechild and Sara McKarney Join us in The Reciprocity Garden | ᐋᐧᐦᑰᐦᑐᐃᐧᐣ (wâhkôhtowin) on Truth and Reconciliation Day, for a conversation with Alaynee Goodwill-Littlechild and Sara McKarney. Together, we’ll reflect on our relationship to the land, our responsibilities to the places we live and gather, and what it means to be better stewards of the land.  
  • WaaPaKe Film Screening by Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin, Hosted by the Royal Alberta Museum
    Admission
    1:30pm 
    In recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we invite you to join us for a screening of the documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) by Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin.  For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin’s deeply personal documentary WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) moves beyond intergenerational trauma, with an invitation to unravel the tangled threads of silence and unite in collective freedom and power.
  • Metis Crossing – National Truth and Reconciliation Day
    1 – 4pm
    On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Métis Crossing will be hosting a day of reflection, learning, and celebration. The event will begin with a welcome and opening prayer led by our Elder. We are honoured to feature keynote speakers including Senator Patti LaBoucane-Benson. Guests will be invited to enjoy tea and bannock provided by Métis Crossing. As part of the programming, we will explore reconciliation through the arts. Join us as we come together to honour this important day, celebrate Métis culture, and reflect on the path toward reconciliation.
  • St Albert National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with speakers, performers and artist market
    12 – 4pm
    Join us for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at Mission Park this September 30 to honour the survivors of and the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Enjoy guest speakers, knowledge keepers, performers, local artisans, exhibits, and food vendors. Join others from the community for an Honour Walk from Mission Park to Kâkesimokamik/The Healing Garden.
  • Truth & Reconciliation Pop-Up Screening & Author Event, hosted by Audrey’s Books
    Free/book ticket
    3:45 – 6pm
    In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Edmonton Short Film Festival, in partnership with Audreys Books, invites the community to a free gathering celebrating Indigenous stories, artists and voices. Join us for an afternoon of film, literature and conversation featuring local Indigenous filmmakers and authors sharing their work, experiences and stories with the community.
  • Rubaboo Indigenous Arts Festival Opening Night
    Free/book ticket
    5 – 11pm
    The opening event of our festival is an outdoor Music and Art extravaganza featuring art installations, displays showcasing Indigenous trailblazers in the Arts, food, prizes, artisan market and performances by: Celeigh Cardinal, Donita Large, Northside Baby, Jay Gilday, Elder Jerry Saddleback, Russecetta4Real. DJ Kookum and more! You are Loved – Celebrate it! is an Alberta Culture Days Event, honouring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by showcasing Indigenous resilience and Indigenous brilliance. Please join us!
  • înîw river lot 11 art park
    Free

October 6

LEARN:

TAKE ACTION:

INTERACT:

WATCH:

LISTEN:

READ:

  • Non-Fiction:
    • 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph
    • The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
    • Me Artsy: An Exploration of Contemporary Native Arts by Drew Hayden Taylor
    • Medicine Shows by Yyelle Nolans
    • Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga
    • The Reason You Walk by Web Kinew
    • In My Own Moccasins by Helen Knott
    • They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School by Bev Sellars
  • Fiction (Graphic Novel):
    • Pemmican Wars (A Girl Called Echo #1) by Katherena Vermette & Scott B. Henderson
    • This Place: 150 Years Retold by 11 Different Authors & 11 Different Illustrators
  • Fiction (Children):
    • Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad & Brock Nicol
    • I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis
    • Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell & Kim LaFave
  • Fiction (Young Adult):
    • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
    • Dear Canada: These Are My Words: The Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens by Ruby Slipperjack
  • Fiction (Adult):
    • Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
    • Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
    • Porcupines and China Dolls by Robert Arthur Alexie
  • Plays:
    • After the Fire by Matthew MacKenzie
    • Almighty Voice and His Wife by Daniel David Moses
    • Annie Mae’s Movement by Yvette Nolan
    • The Art of War  by Yvette Nolan
    • Bears by Matthew MacKenzie
    • Children of God by Corey Payette
    • Coy Wolf by Colin Wolf
    • Death of a Chief by Nolan and Kennedy Cathy Mackinnon
    • Dreary and Izzy by Tara Beagan
    • Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing by Thomson Highway
    • Everything I Couldn’t Tell You by Jeff D’Hondt
    • First Métis Man of Odesa by Matthew MacKenzie & Mariya Khomutova
    • Frozen River (nîkwatin sîpiy) by Michaela Washburn, Joelle Peters & Carrie Costello
    • God and the Indian by Drew Hayden Taylor
    • The Herd by Kenneth T. Williams
    • The Hours that Remain by Keith Barker
    • This is How We Got Here by Keith Barker
    • Huff by Cliff Cardinal
    • Inspiration Point by John Garfield Barlow
    • In Spirit by Tara Beagan
    • Indian Act: Residential School Plays (Anthology) by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
    • Indian Arm by Hiro Kanagawa
    • Niizh by Joelle Peters
    • The Particulars by Matthew MacKenzie
    • Reasonable Doubt by Joel Bernbaum, Lancelot Knight & Yvette Nolan
    • Staging Coyote’s Dream Volume 1, 2 & 3 by Monique Mojica & Ric Knowles
    • Stitch by Cliff Cardinal
    • Tales of an Urban Indian by Darrell Dennis
    • There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or,  The Born Again Crow by Caleigh Crow
    • This is How We Got Here by Keith Barker
    • Th’owxiya by Joseph A. Dandurand
    • Thunderstick by Kenneth T. Williams
    • Too Good to be True by Cliff Cardinal
    • The Trickster of Third Avenue East by Darrell Dennis
    • The Unnatural and Accidental Women by Marie Clements
    • The Unplugging by Yvette Nolan
    • Where the Blood Mixes by Kevin Loring
    • William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, A Radical Retelling by Cliff Cardinal
    • Women of the Fur Trade by Frances Koncan
  • Academic:
    • Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back by Leanne Simpson
    • As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance by Leanne Simpson
    • Red Alert by Daniel R. Wildcat
    • Performing Indigeneity: New Essays on Canadian Theatre Volume 6 by Yvette Nolan and Ric Knowles
    • Transforming Our Practices: Indigenous Art, Pedagogies, and Philosophies by Ballengee Morris & Kryssi Staikidis
  • Poetry:
    • Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Simpson
    • NDN Coping Mechanisms by Billy-Ray Belcourt
    • This Accident of Being Lost by Leanne Simpson
    • Yellow Medicine Poetry Anthologies by Various

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