Residential Schools

Orange Shirt Day is an annual statutory holiday held on September 30th to remember the Indigenous children that attended residential school. The idea for Orange Shirt Day was sparked in May, 2013 in Williams Lake, BC, at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion and was inspired by the residential school experiences of a former student of the school, Phyllis (Jack) Webstad.

See the progress on Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. A CBC project that provides up-to-date status reports on each call to action, as well as extensive summaries explaining those status reports.

Documents the history of the United Church’s Indian Residential Schools in Canada. Histories of some residential schools across Canada are provided, including pictures.

Told through a geographic lens, Google Earth Voyager provides information and personal accounts of residential schools across Canada. 

B.C. organization providing services to Indian residential school survivors and their families, such as couselling, health and cultural support, and more.

Very thorough research guide from the X̱wi7x̱wa  Library at UBC.

The federal government body that supports and empowers Indigenous peoples to independently deliver services and address the socio-economic conditions in their communities.

National Indigenous charitable organization whose purposes are to educate, raise awareness, and understanding of the legacy of residential schools, including the effects and intergenerational impacts on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples, and to support the ongoing healing process of residential school survivors.

Access to a collection of online exhibitions on the residential school system from different perspectives and experiences. 

Get started in researching residential school records.

The Náskan Ūxwal (I’m Going Home) ceremonial journey (2017) was a space for St’át’imc residential school survivors and their families to help in their healing. This documentary is one story. This video is owned by the St’át’imc people. 

Permanent home for all reports, statements, documents, and other materials gathered by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Engages Canadians in dialogue and transformative experiences that revitalize the relationships among Indigenous peoples and all Canadians.

Vancouver Public Library is committed to the process of reconciliation with First Nations and urban Indigenous communities. VPL has responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. A selection of initiatives and links to additional resources are provided below.