Truth and Reconciliation Day ceremony set for Kempton Howard Park on evening of Sept. 30

East Toronto residents are invited to take part in a Truth and Reconciliation Fire Ceremony on the evening of Monday, Sept. 30.

The ceremony will take place at Kempton Howard Park, 150 Blake St. in the Jones and Danforth avenues area, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Part of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, the ceremony is being organized by the Blake Street Junior Public School community and local First Nations Knowledge Keepers.

Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is held on Sept. 30 of each year with the intention of reflecting upon and remembering the legacy of residential schools, and murdered and missing Indigenous women. The day is also to raise awareness about the responsibility of all Canadians regarding Truth and Reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities over historical injustices and crimes.

Those taking part in Monday’s evening’s ceremony at Kempton Howard Park are asked to wear orange shirts in honour of residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad.

In 1973, when Webstad was six years old she went to a church-run residential school in Williams Lake, B.C. Her grandmother had gifted her a new orange shirt for her first day of school which she proudly wore. Upon arriving at the school, the orange shirt was confiscated and her hair was cut. Wearing an orange shirt on Sept. 30 is a symbol and remembrance of the many losses experienced by children who were sent to residential schools.

Those attending Monday’s ceremony are invited to join organizers around the sacred fire to learn more about the impacts of the residential school system and colonialism on Indigenous people.