On September 30, Canada celebrates the third annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation to honor the survivors of Indigenous peoples and children who disappeared from residential schools.
The day commemorates those who lost their lives while attending church-run, state-funded boarding schools. Some of these people managed to survive this dark time and return home. But the main purpose of this day is to pay tribute to both of these groups.
The National Center for Truth and Reconciliation recommends that Canadians wear orange on this day as a symbol of solidarity with aboriginal peoples.
The federal government is also asking Canadians to reflect on Canada's history of mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the enduring intergenerational harm of church-sponsored institutions that separated children from their families and abused them.