Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Ceremonies were held from coast to coast to coast to remember and honour Indigenous children who never returned home, as well as residential school system survivors, their families and communities.

Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is considered a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Those public events played out across the country today, including in downtown St. John’s where hundreds turned out in orange shirts to simultaneously mark Orange Shirt Day — a grassroots movement to heighten awareness of the generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.

The St. John’s event was held on the front steps and grounds of Colonial Building, the irony of which was not lost on First Light executive director Stacey Howse.

“It’s really powerful to know that we are starting to reclaim these spaces,” she told the gathering. “We are all here at the Colonial Building, we have a fire, and we’re gonna offer prayers and good intentions and we get to practice our ceremonies, so many of which we have lost due to the residential school system and due to colonization of our people.

“It’s just so powerful and emotional to be here and know that we get to reclaim that.”

Sea of orange here at Colonial Building in St. John’s for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. ⁦⁦@VOCMNEWS⁩ pic.twitter.com/A1Uv1O7Q70

— Brian Callahan (@briancallahan67) September 30, 2023