George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
The Seasonal Calendar
The Water Vessel: Carrying Life-Giving Teachings
Water holds and carries. It moves between us, and through us, giving life. When we carry Indigenous knowledges in the academic calendar, we can think of them like a water vessel—something we hold with care, knowing it sustains life. The question is: what in these teachings “gives life,” and how do we remain alive to their messages?
Toronto Event: The Indigenous Legacy Gathering
What is it?
The Council Fire Indigenous Legacy Gathering is a public, free-to-attend annual event in Toronto organized by the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre (TCFNCC) to celebrate Indigenous cultures, traditions, and languages. Held in the days leading up to and on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, it offers workshops, presentations, traditional dances, films, music, and an Indigenous marketplace, all designed to honour residential school survivors, their families, and the contributions of Indigenous youth.
Why is it important to George Brown Polytechnic?
It provides a space to listen: Honouring Survivors and Youth in the Toronto urban Indigenous communities
The event specifically serves to honour residential school survivors and the intergenerational impacts of residential schools. It also highlights the contributions and connection to creation of the younger generation.
Location: The gathering is held at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. Explore the Spirit Garden on site and listen to knowledge holders in the teaching lodge.
Mississauga Event: March with the Mississauguas of the Credit First Nation
What is it?
A walk to remember and reflect together in honour of Truth and Reconciliation. After the march, join us at the MCFN Community Centre (659 New Credit Rd) for family-friendly activities, connection, and dinner starting at 4:30 p.m!
Why is it important to George Brown Polytechnic?
By participating in events like the MCFN march, you can help build a more respectful and harmonious relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and show commitment to upholding our specific Treaty rights and building a stronger, more inclusive future.
You directly foster truths that lead to reconciliation:
The march is a tangible way to engage in the process of reconciliation by acknowledging past wrongs, reflecting on the present, and working towards a more equitable and respectful future. Truth and reconciliation go together.
Location:
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Meet at Hagersville Food Bank (32 Alma St. N) at 2 p.m.
Volunteers are requested.
Bring stories into your classroom: Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Orange Shirt Day on September 30 is a day to honour the children who went to residential schools and to learn about the legacy of the residential school system. This year, September 30 has also been recognized by the federal government as the annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. To mark this day, A&S has compiled a collection of resources and events to encourage individual and collective learning, reflection and action with respect to the legacy of the residential school system. Learn more about the origin of Orange Shirt Day and Phyllis Webstad's story.
Why Should We Listen to Survivors?
Because truth is medicine. Survivors name what was done in residential schools so that silence does not kill again.
Because their voices give life to the next generations. To remember children taken is to keep their spirits alive, and invigorate new generations of youth to follow the path into cultural responsibilities.
Because their teachings are relational. They tell us how to carry responsibility: with humility, with courage, with care.
How Do We Stay Alive to Their Messages?
Pause and reflect. Don’t rush past Orange Shirt Day as just another event. Treat it as ceremony: a moment to let truth move through you.
Carry forward. Like water that moves from vessel to vessel, we take what Survivors teach us and pour it into our classrooms, our conversations, our choices.
Stay in relation. Survivors are not only witnesses of the past; they are teachers of the present. Ask yourself: how am I tending this relationship?
The resources flowing around the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation are immense—like a river branching into many streams. Videos, podcasts, interviews, activities, maps—each one carries its own current of story and teaching. You only need to decide which waters you are ready to step into.
The teachings of Survivors, like the waters that sustain us, only come alive when they are received. This vessel does not ask for grand gestures—it asks for your presence. All it takes is your willingness to pause, to listen, to let their truths flow through you.
A simple search for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation or Orange Shirt Day will open these streams to you. Let your curiosity be the vessel you carry.