Flags fly above U of T's three campuses ahead of Orange Shirt Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Flags have been raised across the University of Toronto’s three campuses as the community gets ready to commemorate Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30.

On the St. George campus, the Survivors' Flag is flying above Varsity Stadium after being raised by the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE), supported by First Nations House and the U of T Office of Indigenous Initiatives. 

Created by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in consultation with survivors, the Survivors' Flag honours the Indigenous lives and communities impacted by the residential school system.

"Publicly marking the legacy and lasting impacts of Canada’s residential school system is an important step on our collective path toward reconciliation," said Gretchen Kerr, dean of KPE.

At U of T Mississauga, the flag was raised over the Davis Building.

A ceremony at U of T Scarborough, meanwhile, saw the raising of the Every Child Matters flag. The event featured reflections from Linda Johnston, U of T vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough, and Tanya Senk, director, Indigenous Initiatives & Indigenous House.

"We are actively working to move beyond the performative for real substantive change and possible transformation,” Senk said at the ceremony.

All flags will be lowered to half-mast across the three campuses on Sept. 30, as the community comes together for a university-wide event at the Great Hall at Hart House. Participants can register to attend the event in person or watch the livestream.

The event will feature a panel discussion on Indigenous language advocacy in community and post-secondary education. Speakers include Rochelle Allan (Anishinaabe), Indigenous language revitalization partnership co-ordinator at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at U of T; Charlotte Logan (Kanien’kehá:ka of Akwesasne), the 2025 provost postdoctoral fellow in the department of linguistics at U of T; and Megan Lukaniec (Wendat Nation), associate professor at Université Laval and Canada Research Chair in Reconstruction and Revitalization of Indigenous Languages.

There will also be remarks from David Kim, warden of Hart House, Alexandra Gillespie, U of T vice-president and principal at U of T Mississauga, and Chancellor Wes Hall.

First Nations House Indigenous Student Services will be supporting the commemoration at Hart House by hosting a ceremonial fire at Ziibiing, the Indigenous landscape at Hart House Green. The event is hosted by U of T Mississauga, U of T Scarborough and the institutional Office of Indigenous Initiatives, First Nations House Indigenous Student Services, Centre for Indigenous Studies and Hart House.

All U of T community members are encouraged to wear orange on Sept. 30 as a show of solidarity and a reminder that “Every Child Matters.”

The Office of Indigenous Initiatives has partnered with the U of T Bookstore on a limited run of shirts featuring noojimo’iwe, an award-winning design by MJ Singleton, an Ojibwe, two-spirit artist and U of T Mississauga alum.

All proceeds from the shirts go to the Orange Shirt Society. A limited supply of shirts will be available for purchase at the event on Sept. 30.

Community members can also download a virtual background and profile icon with noojimo’iwe to use throughout the week.

– with files from Makeda Marc-Ali and Alexa Battler