Truth & Reconciliation Day at Fort Edmonton Park

September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a time to honour the children who never returned home, survivors of residential schools, and their families.

In partnership with the City of Edmonton, the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park will be open as a ticketed event on Tuesday, September 30, offering you an opportunity to learn the truths of Indigenous life before and after the formation of Canada.

Session Information and Schedule:

The Indigenous Peoples Experience is honoured to host five sessions throughout the day at no additional cost to guests. You may add one session to your ticket at the time of purchase. There are limited seats available for each session.

Opening Ceremoney | 9:30 am | Front Entry
Join us for the Opening Ceremony as we come together in reflection and respect for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The ceremony will honour Survivors, their families, and the children who never returned home, while reminding us of our shared responsibility to listen, learn, and walk the path of reconciliation together.

Balance ​“miyo-mahcihoyān” | 11:00 am & 1:00 pm (45 minutes each)
Location: Indigenous People’s Experience, Multi-Purpose Room #1 & 2
Host: Kyle M. Campiou

Honouring our past by healing our future together. Working forward from the ​“ideal to actual” with the effects of pre-colonization, colonization and post-colonization. How we work to bring traditional ceremonies to non-traditional spaces in the city of Edmonton. The experiences and work of an urban Kihci-oskâpêwaw or Indigenous Cultural Spiritual Advisor Helper to give space and opportunities to practice ceremony and heal together with everyone, all together, every nation, all allies and all denominations and all religions, willing and wanting of community and connection. 

Inuit Residential School Experience | 12:00 pm — 1:00 pm
Location: Indigenous People’s Experience, Multi-Purpose Room #1 & 2
Host: Elder Connie Kananyok McCrae & Jaynine McCrae 

Connie Kanayok McCrae is a retired professional legal interpreter. She was born on Lambert Island in the Arctic region of Canada. She was raised in a traditional Inuit lifestyle and learned to drum dance at a young age. Her family was relocated to the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut and the children were sent to a residential school. When she returned to Kugluktuk, she had to relearn her language, but didn’t start drum dancing again until the age of 70, when she wanted to teach her daughter, Jaynine. Both now live and work in amiskwaciwâskahikan.

Healing Circle | 1:00 pm — 3:30 pm
Location: Indigenous People’s Experience, Multi-Purpose Room #3
Host: Chantelle Hurshman Gray

I will be sharing part of my story as the first descendant in my Matriarchal line to not attend a Residential school, and the impacts of not being raised with my Culture. I will then share how the plants and connecting to Culture and stories helped me heal and make sense of what my family went through. Then I would like to open up the Circle to anyone who would like to share. 

Trials and Tribulations of being a Sixties Scoop Survivor | 2:00 pm — 3:30 pm
Location: Indigenous People’s Experience Multi-Purpose Room #1 & 2
Host: Lorraine Champagne & Daniel Campbell

Discover what it was like growing up as a Sixties Scoop Survivor, how it has affected their lives, and the ways they have coped with their losses, while gaining a deeper understanding of those losses, the emotions they created, and how they have shaped who they are today.