What to Read, Watch and Listen to Before September 30
Indigenous-created books, films, podcasts and educational resources to help Canadian families learn, reflect and continue the conversation beyond one day.
This week, September 21-25, is Truth and Reconciliation Week 2026. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is offering educational activities on the path toward reconciliation through daily Lunch & Learn webinars, free curriculum resources for Grades 1–12, and national events.
Here at BTN, we’re making space for Indigenous voices and directing our readers to the writers, educators and organizations doing this important work. Below are resources Canadian families can read, watch and discuss together, not only on September 30, but throughout the year.
Indigenous-authored children’s books
Phyllis’s Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad
Best for: Approximately ages 4–6
A simplified, child-accessible version of Phyllis Webstad’s experience having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day at residential school. Webstad is a Northern Secwépemc residential-school Survivor and the founder of Orange Shirt Day.
Learn about Phyllis Webstad and her books
The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad
Best for: Approximately ages 6–10
A fuller version of the true story behind Orange Shirt Day.
When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson, illustrated by Julie Flett
Best for: Approximately ages 4–8
A young girl asks her grandmother why she wears colourful clothing, keeps her hair long, speaks Cree and spends so much time with family. Her grandmother gently explains how these things were taken away from her at residential school and how the children quietly reclaimed them. Robertson is Swampy Cree, and Flett is Cree-Métis.
Shi-shi-etko by Nicola I. Campbell
Best for: Approximately ages 5–9
The story follows a young girl during her final days at home before she is taken to residential school. Rather than depicting her time at the school, it centres her family, culture, land and the memories she wants to preserve. Campbell is Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx and Métis.
I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
Best for: Approximately ages 7–11
Based on the experience of Dupuis’s grandmother, Irene Couchie, who was taken from Nipissing First Nation to attend residential school.
This book deals more explicitly with mistreatment and forced assimilation than the books above, so we recommend parents read it first.
First-person stories and Survivor testimony
Phyllis Webstad’s story
Hear directly from the woman whose experience inspired Orange Shirt Day.
Orange Shirt Society videos
The Survivor-founded Orange Shirt Society has assembled videos featuring Survivor voices and educational content.
Explore the Orange Shirt Society’s resources
The Survivors Speak
This Truth and Reconciliation Commission publication preserves the experiences shared by residential-school Survivors in their own words. It is emotionally difficult, but it is one of the most important primary sources available.
Find The Survivors Speak through the NCTR
“Namwayut: We Are All One”
In this talk, Chief Robert Joseph shares his experiences as a residential-school Survivor and discusses what reconciliation requires.
Watch Chief Robert Joseph’s talk
Indigenous-created podcasts and documentaries
Please note, these are primarily for adults and older teens.
Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s
Created and hosted by Connie Walker, a journalist from Okanese First Nation, this investigative podcast examines her father’s experiences at St. Michael’s residential school and the effects on her family. It won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award.
Content note: Contains discussions of abuse and intergenerational trauma.
Kuper Island
An eight-part CBC podcast hosted by Anishinaabe journalist Duncan McCue. It examines the experiences of four children who attended the Kuper Island residential school, three who survived and one who did not.
Content note: Contains detailed discussions of abuse, death and trauma.
Returning Home
This documentary follows Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad and examines both the residential-school legacy and the relationship between her community and the land. It was made in collaboration with Webstad and directed by Sean Stiller.
Find Returning Home through APTN
Sugarcane
Co-directed by Secwépemc and St’at’imc filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, this documentary investigates abuse and deaths connected to St. Joseph’s Mission, the residential school attended by members of NoiseCat’s family.
Content note: This is an exceptional documentary, but extremely heavy.
Educational resources from Indigenous organizations
Orange Shirt Society
The Survivor-founded organization explains the origin and meaning of Orange Shirt Day and provides videos and educational guides.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
The NCTR preserves Survivor statements, residential-school records, educational exhibits and the TRC’s reports. Its annual Truth and Reconciliation Week also offers programming for schools and families.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation Week
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
Its Spirit Bear resources help children understand reconciliation, fairness and the continuing inequities experienced by First Nations children. These are especially useful for families and elementary classrooms.
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
Woodland Cultural Centre
An Indigenous-run cultural and educational centre located at the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ontario. Its educational programming helps people learn about the residential-school system and its effects.
Legacy of Hope Foundation
An Indigenous-led charitable organization that develops exhibitions, educational materials and resources about residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and their continuing impacts.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued 94 Calls to Action in 2015. Reading them is an important starting point, but reconciliation also requires understanding the truths and Survivor testimony behind those calls. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation makes the Commission’s reports freely available.
Start here: The 94 Calls to Action
The Calls address child welfare, education, language, health, justice, media, business, government and other institutions.
Next: What We Have Learned
This provides an account of the history, findings and lessons that emerged from the Commission’s work.
For Survivor testimony: The Survivors Speak
This centres the experiences Survivors shared with the Commission.
For a deeper understanding: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future
This is the summary of the TRC’s final report and gives readers more context.
All four documents are available free through the NCTR’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports page
Choose one place to begin. Read an age-appropriate story with your children, listen to a Survivor’s experience, or spend time with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
September 30 asks us to remember the children who never returned home, honour Survivors and acknowledges the ongoing effects of the residential-school system.
But listening and learning should not end when the orange shirts are put away.
Indigenous writers, filmmakers, educators and organizations share these stories throughout the year. We can continue to make space for their voices, learn the history of the lands and communities around us, and consider what reconciliation asks of each of us, not only on one day, but in the choices we make each day afterward.
September 30, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
In honour of the sixth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), APTN, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, CBC/Radio-Canada and the Algonquin Nation have united to produce a 90-minute multilingual commemorative gathering, entitled Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The event will take place on Parliament Hill and will have a live broadcast.