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National Day of Truth and Reconciliation-Children's Materials

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed September 30. The day honours First Nations, Inuit and Métis survivors, the children who never returned home, and the families and communities who continue to be affected by residential schools. Children can be trusted with the truth, so share these reliable and age-appropriate materials to start important conversations.

User from Wood Buffalo Regional Library

25 items

  • Discusses the history of residential schools in Canada, their impact on Indigenous people, and the special day established for truth and reconciliation
    Book, 2024Collingwood, Ontario : Beech Street Books, 2024. — J305.897 SMI
  • Poppa and His Drum

    a Heartwarming Story of Truth and Reconciliation

    Doucette, Judith M.,
    After moving from an all-French Indigenous community to the English community of St. George's when he was a little boy, Poppa's life as a young man was very sad. He was treated badly by his schoolteachers and some other children in the town. Years…
    Book, 2023Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador : Flanker Press St. John's, 2023. — DOU
  • Every Child Matters." Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad offers insights into this heartfelt movement. 'Every Child Matters' honours the history and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island and moves us all forward on a path toward…
    Book, 2023[British Columbia] : Medicine Wheel Publishing, 2023. — J371.829 WEB
  • After Haywaas sees his parents get frustrated while watching the news, this precocious 12-year-old begins a months-long journey navigating many different answers to what he thought was a simple question. Expertly crafted by a teacher-parent-author…
    Book, 2023[Nanaimo, British Columbia] : WaveMaker Press, 2023. — J305.897 REI
  • The Witness Blanket

    Truth, Art and Reconciliation

    Newman, Carey, 1975-
    This nonfiction book for middle-grade readers, illustrated with photographs, tells the story of the making of the Witness Blanket, a work by Indigenous artist Carey Newman that includes items from every residential school in Canada and stories from…
    Book, 2022[Victoria, British Columbia] : Orca Book Publishers, 2022. — J371.829 NEW
  • Muinji'j Asks Why

    the Story of the Mi'kmaq and the Shubenacadie Residential School

    MacEachern, Shanika
    When seven-year-old Muinji'j comes home from school one day, her Nana and Papa can tell right away that she's upset. Her teacher has been speaking about the residential schools. Unlike most of her fellow students, Muinji'j has always known about the…
    Book, 2022Halifax, NS : Nimbus Publishing Ltd., 2022. — J371.829 MAC
  • Beyond the Orange Shirt Story is a unique collection of truths, as told by Phyllis Webstad's family and others, that will give readers an up-close look at what life was like before, during, and after their Residential School experiences. In this…
    Book, 2021Victoria, BC : Medicine Wheel Education, [2021] — 371.829 WEB
  • The beloved story of an Inuvialuit girl standing up to the injustices of residential school.
    Book, 2020Toronto : Annick Press, [2020] — J BIO POKIAKFE
  • When Phyllis Webstad (nee Jack) 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 and…
    Book, 2019[Victoria, B.C.] : Medicine Wheel Education, 2019. — J371.829 WEB
  • Explores the impact of residential schools on the Indigenous people of Canada as well as efforts by the Canadian government to mend the damaged relationships caused by these schools.
    Book, 2018Collingwood, Ont. : Beech Street Books, 2018. — J371.829 ROS
  • When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are…
    Book, 2016Toronto : Second Story Press, 2016. — DUP
  • In just four days young Shi-shi-etko will have to leave her family and all that she knows to attend residential school. She spends her last days at home treasuring the beauty of her world -- the dancing sunlight, the tall grass, each shiny rock,…
    Book, 2005Toronto : Groundwood Books, [2005] — CAM
  • These Are My Words

    the Residential School Diary of Violet Pesheens

    Slipperjack, Ruby, 1952-
    Twelve-year-old Violet Pesheens is taken away to Residential School in 1966. The diary recounts her experiences of travelling there, the first day, and first months, focusing on the everyday life she experiences--the school routine, battles with…
    Book, 2016Toronto : Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2016. — JF SLIPPERJ
  • Author Jodie Callaghan worked as a journalist at the time of the Canadian government's apology for the residential school system. She took inspiration for this book from her conversations with survivors--including her own grandmother's experience at…
    Book, 2020Toronto : Second Story Press, [2020] — CAL
  • A young girl notices things about her grandmother that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak Cree and spend so much time with her family? As she asks questions, her…
    Book, 2016Winnipeg, Man. : HighWater Press, [2016] — ROB
  • Looks at the experiences of a strong-willed young Inuit girl who receives permission from her father to travel to a residential religious school run by non-Inuit outsiders, where she struggles to adapt to the new way of living.
    Book, 2013Toronto ; New York : Annick Press, [2013] — J371.829 JOR
  • This picture book explores the intergenerational impact of Canada's residential school system that separated Indigenous children from their families. The story recognizes the pain of those whose culture and language were taken from them, how that…
    Book, 2017Toronto : Second Story Press, 2017. — FLO
  • The Journey Forward

    Novellas on Reconciliation

    From award-winning authors Richard Van Camp and Monique Gray Smith come two honest and memorable middle-grade novellas on residential schools and reconciliation. The novellas will be bound together in a "flip-book" format, which offers the intended…
    Book, 2018New Westminster, British Columbia : McKellar & Martin Publishing Group Ltd., 2018.
  • I lost my talk The talk you took away When I was a little girl At Shubenacadie school. One of Rita Joes most influential poems, I Lost My Talk tells the revered Mikmaw Elders childhood story of losing her language while a resident of the residential…
    Book, 2019Halifax, Nova Scotia : Nimbus Publishing, 2019. — J811.54 JOE
  • Residential Schools

    the Devastating Impact on Canada's Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Findings and Calls for Action

    Florence, Melanie
    Canada's residential school system for aboriginal young people is now recognized as a grievous historic wrong committed against First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. This book documents this subject in a format that will give all young people…
    Book, 2016Toronto : James Lorimer & Company, [2016] — J321.829 FLO