National Day of Truth and Reconciliation: Curriculum Resources

Time to listen, learn, and celebrate Indigenous culture.

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

For more information regarding Truth and Reconciliation, please visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. To learn about the meaning of wearing an orange shirt on September 30th, visit the Orange Shirt Society.

The Curriculum Resource Centre located in the Norma Marion Alloway Library contains various resources that create awareness of Survivors, families, and communities inter-generational impacts of residential schools.

Goodbye Buffalo Bay by Larry Loyie (Cree) with Constance Brissenden
(Interest Level: Grades 6-7)

In this novel, Lawrence learns the power of friendship and courage in his last year in residential school. Returning home, he finds himself a stranger to his family and First Nations culture until he hears his grandfather’s gentle guiding voice.

No Time to Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kuper Island Residential School by Sylvia Olsen (Tsartlip First Nation) with Rita Morris (Tsartlip First Nation) and Ann Sam (Tsartlip First Nation)
(Interest Level: Grades 6-9)

Fictional account of five children sent to aboriginal boarding school, based on the recollections of a number of Tsartlip First Nations people. These unforgettable children are taken by government agents from Tsartlip Day School to live at Kuper Island Residential School. The five are isolated on the small island and life becomes regimented by the strict school routine. They experience the pain of homesickness and confusion while trying to adjust to a world completely different from their own. Their lives are no longer organized by fishing, hunting and family, but by bells, line-ups and chores.

On the Side of the Angels by Jose Amaujay Kusugak (Inuk)
(Interest Level: Grades 6-9)

“Then one day a ‘flyable’ took me away from our world through the sky to a dark and desolate place.” Jose Kusugak had a typical Arctic childhood, growing up playing games, enjoying food caught by hunters, and watching his mother preparing skins. But he was one of the first generation of Inuit children who were taken from their homes and communities and sent to live in residential schools. In this moving and candid memoir, Jose tells of his experiences at residential school and the lifelong effects it had on him.

Orange Shirt Day, September 30^th by the Orange Shirt Society
(Interest Level: Kindergardent-12)

This resource published by the Orange Shirt Society was created to educate individuals on the Orange Shirt Day movement, Residential School history and the process of reconciliation. The book explores a brief history of the events leading to the implementation of Residential Schools, and focuses on the impacts of St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC, the creation of and movement of Orange Shirt Day and how to participate respectfully, authentically and effectively.

The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad (Secwépemc) and illustrator (Brock Nicol)
(Interest Level: Grades 2-7)

When Phyllis Webstad turned six, she went to the residential school for the first time. On her first day at school, she wore a shiny orange shirt that her Granny had bought for her, but when she got to the school, it was taken away from her and never returned. This is the true story of Phyllis and her orange shirt. It is also the story of Orange Shirt Day (an important day of remembrance for First Nations and non-First Nations Canadians).

Residential Schools: Indigenous Life in Canada, Past, Present, Future by Heather C. Hudak
(Interest Level: Grades 4-9)

Discusses the history of residential schools, including why the government established them, how Indigenous children were treated, and the lasting impact on Indigenous cultures and traditions.

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki (Dakelh) and illustrated by Carrielynn Victor (Coast Salish)
(Interest Level: Kindergarten to Grade 3)

Based on the author’s mother’s experience at residential school, The Secret Pocket is a story of survival and resilience in the face of genocide and cruelty. But it’s also a celebration of quiet resistance to the injustice of residential schools and how the sewing skills passed down through generations of Indigenous women gave these girls a future, stitch by stitch.

Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Alexander Robertson (Swampy Cree) and Scott B. Henderson
(Interest Level: Grades 7-12)

A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, his friend’s grandmother, who tells him her story. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy was soon adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changed. Betsy was taken away to a residential school. There she was forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalled the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls — words that gave her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive.