Honour the experiences of residential school survivors at a University-wide event to commemorate Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. Students, librarians, faculty members, and staff can register to attend this event in person or watch the live stream. 

The commemoration will feature a discussion on Loss, Resistance and Reclamation: Reflections on Indigenous language advocacy in community and post-secondary education. 

Orange Shirt Day has been observed on September 30th annually for several years. In June 2021, the Federal Government passed legislation formally recognizing September 30th as the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. 

The commemoration is hosted by the UTM, UTSC and institutional Offices of Indigenous Initiatives, First Nations House Indigenous Student Services, Centre for Indigenous Studies, and Hart House, in the Great Hall at Hart House (7 Hart House Circle, Toronto) on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. 

Agenda 

Commemoration 

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
The Great Hall
1st Floor, Hart House
7 Hart House Circle 

9:30 a.m. | Registration Opens 

Light refreshments available in the Lower Gallery. 

10:00 a.m. | Commemoration 

Land Acknowledgement 

Hadya Noori, 1st Year Student in Psychology & Health Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough and a Hart House UTSC Outreach Ambassador

Welcome

David Kim, Warden, Hart House 

Remarks

Alexandra Gillespie, Vice-President and Principal, University of Toronto Mississauga 

Panel Discussion: Loss, Resistance and Reclamation: Reflections on Indigenous language advocacy in community and post-secondary education 

Rochelle Allan, (Anishinaabe) Indigenous Language Revitalization Partnership Coordinator, Centre for Indigenous Studies, U of T 

Charlotte Logan, (Kanien’kehá:ka of Akwesasne) 2025 Provost Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Linguistics, U of T 

Megan Lukaniec, (Wendat Nation) Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Reconstruction and Revitalization of Indigenous Languages, Université Laval  

Closing Remarks

Wes Hall, Chancellor, University of Toronto 

11:30 a.m. | Commemoration Concludes 

Overflow seating will be available in the East Common Room (ECR), on the 1st floor of Hart House. 

Other ways to participate 

Ceremonial Fire 

10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Ziibiing
1 Hart House Circle 

10:00 a.m. | Fire Commences 

First Nations House Indigenous Student Services will be supporting the commemoration at Hart House by hosting a ceremonial fire at Ziibiing. 

Indigenous U of T Firekeeper trainee students will be on site to tend to the fire. Tobacco, Sage, Sweetgrass, Cedar, and smudge bowls will be available on site. 

Indigenous students, staff, librarians, faculty members and Indigenous community members are welcome to join the fire and hold space for one another. 

Limited seating will be available. 

12:30 p.m. | Fire Concludes 

Wear an Orange Shirt Day Shirt 

All members of the U of T community are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on September 30 in the spirit of reconciliation. Doing so affirms that “Every Child Matters.” You can wear any orange shirt to show your solidarity. 

In recognition of Orange Shirt Day 2026 and the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives has partnered with the U of T Bookstore on a limited supply of orange t-shirts. 

For the first time, a limited supply of shirts will be available for purchase at the event on September 30.  

The shirts feature an award-winning design by UTM alumni MJ Singleton. Their design, titled noojimo’iwe, emphasizes the importance of healing the intergenerational trauma of residential schooling by supporting and loving those around you. It portrays a mother holding hands and walking forward with her two children. Above them is a bright sun with contour lines connecting to a floral pattern and designs representing all living things.

MJ Singleton (she/they) is Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) and 2-Spirit from Migisi Sahgaigan (Eagle Lake) First Nation, Treaty #3 Territory. Their background includes visual arts and teachings associated with jingle dress dancing. MJ holds an HBSc in Psychology and Criminology, Law & Society from the University of Toronto Mississauga. MJ currently works at the Centre for Indigenous Studies as the Undergraduate Communications Administrator. 

All proceeds from the sale of these shirts will be directed to the Orange Shirt Society—no proceeds will go to the U of T Bookstore or the University of Toronto.

Purchase your shirt from the U of T Bookstore

(for bulk shirt orders, please contact the Bookstore at customorders@uoftbookstore.com)
OR purchase on-site at Hart House on September 30

Learn more about MJ Singleton’s design

Participate Virtually in Orange Shirt Day 

We also encourage all U of T community members to use the Orange Shirt Day virtual background and profile icon, featuring MJ Singleton’s design, the week of September 22-30. 

Speakers' Biographies

Rochelle Allan

Rochelle Allan is an Anishinaabemowin learner and parent in Toronto. She maintains an Anishinaabemowin speaking home with her children and continues to work to improve her language and share her experiences with others. On top of this she is also the Indigenous Language Revitalization Partnership Coordinator at University of Toronto, and co-host / producer of the podcast Anishinaabemowin Word Parts.

Rochelle is non-status (her father is a member of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation).

Charlotte Logan

Dr. Charlotte Logan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Linguistics and Center for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on language documentation and linguistic analysis carefully designed to support Language Revitalization within the Six Nations Confederacy. She is Akwesasne Mohawk.

Megan Lukaniec

Megan Lukaniec is an associate professor and a Canada Research Chair in Reconstruction and Revitalization of Indigenous Languages. Member of the Wendat Nation, she works in collaboration with her community since 2006 to reclaim their ancestral language which was dormant for over a century. She reconstructs the Wendat language through a historical-comparative analysis of the Wendat archival documentation. In addition to creating a dictionary of Wendat, she provides linguistic support and helps train the Wendat language team of the Onywawenda’ Department of the Council of the Wendat Nation.

Accessibility 

Hart House has published details on accessing the space. 

If you require additional accessibility accommodation(s), contact dua.events@utoronto.ca, and we will work with you to make appropriate arrangements. 

Parking Information 

Please refer to the Interactive Parking Map from Transportation Services to locate parking lots and rates throughout the St. George campus. 

Unfortunately, there are no areas that allow for free parking on campus. 

If you plan to park on campus for the event, we recommend using the Landmark Parking Garage (35 Hart House Circle, Toronto). 

The Story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad 

Orange Shirt Day is based on the story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, who in 1973, entered the St. Joseph Mission Residential School at the age of six. She was stripped of the orange shirt she was wearing and forced to wear the institutional uniform. 

September 30 was chosen to mark the date when trucks and buses would arrive in communities to take children to residential schools. These schools operated in Canada between 1831 and 1996. 

Additional Links 

• The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) is a provincial organization that provides essential services to residential school survivors and families experiencing intergenerational trauma. 

• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. 

• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Event Partners 

The commemoration is presented in partnership with: 

• The Office of Indigenous Initiatives, 

• Hart House, 

• The Centre for Indigenous Studies, and 

• First Nations House Indigenous Student Services