Teepees in Toronto: Events across GTA to mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Teepees will line the space outside city hall on Friday as Toronto prepares to mark the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Crews were busy constructing the teepees on Thursday at Nathan Phillips Square, where the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre, a cultural agency, will hold its sixth annual Indigenous Legacy Gathering.

Erik Wakegijig, who works in the council fire's youth and social media sectors, said there will be full days of programming on both Friday and Saturday, which is the official day.

"It really showcases that us, we Indigenous people, aren't just things that you can read about in your textbooks in high school. We're people who live in the community," he said.

"We live in Toronto. We don't just live out in the woods. These type of things are just ways for us to let people know that we exist, we're here, and celebrate with us," he said.

On its website, the council says the gathering is an "avenue where stories, teachings, and the vibrant traditions of our people are shared and appreciated through workshops, presentations, dance, film, and music."

Billed as a celebration and an educational experience, the gathering is one of the main events honouring the day in Toronto, aiming reflect the diversity of Indigenous cultures. The council says the event this year is about "honouring our Grandmother Moon." Each teepee will feature an organization.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a time to remember children who died while being forced to attend church-run and government-funded residential schools, those who survived and made it home and the families and communities still affected by the lasting trauma. The day is also known as Orange Shirt Day.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools between the 1870s and 1997. The schools aimed to assimilate Indigenous children while eradicating Indigenous languages and cultures, and there was widespread abuse.

But the day itself can mean different things to different people. 

Anthony Gladue, a storyteller, said the day is a time for Indigenous people to remember residential school trauma and it's a time for non-Indigenous people to understand that trauma. He said it is important to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma.

"It's a time to remember who we are as Anishinaabe people to find our spirit once again," Gladue said.

Dean Doxtator, a residential school survivor, said the day is emotional and hits home. He said he's not sure if Canadians understand the full impact of residential schools on Indigenous peoples.

"We sent our kids to school. They're supposed to return home. These kids didn't return home. I'm lucky to be here today because I was in residential school and I was in day school. I know ones that have gone missing," he said.