Today marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and there are several events planned in and around Toronto to mark it.

The day commemorates the children who died while being forced to attend church-run and government-funded residential schools, as well as survivors and communities affected by ongoing trauma.

Tuesday is also known as Orange Shirt Day, a tradition that began in 2013 to honour residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, who had her orange shirt taken away on her first day at St. Joseph Mission Residential School.

Here are some of the public events happening to mark the day:

8th annual Indigenous Legacy Gathering

Tuesday and Wednesday 7a.m. to 9 p.m., Nathan Phillips Square 

The Annual Indigenous Legacy Gathering is a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ cultures, traditions and community. 

The free event begins early with a sunrise ceremony both days and features a number of performances, from Inuit throat singing to traditional drumming, plus several youth workshops including teepee design and orange T-shirt colouring.

An Indigenous marketplace is slated open 10 a.m. each day and the event is run by the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre in partnership with the city.

An indigenous dancer in bright colours and a long feather headdress dances smiling.An Indigenous dancer performing at the 2023 Indigenous Legacy Gathering at Nathan Phillips Square ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Michael Wilson/CBC)Blake Street Junior Public School’s fire ceremonyTuesday at 6 p.m., Kempton Howard Park

Since 2021, the former co-chair of Blake Street Junior Public School Valerie Laurie has been co-organizing a public truth and reconciliation fire ceremony in the city’s east end.

Participants form a circle and get smudged, a spiritual purification practice that involves burning a small amount of sage or cedar, usually. Then, they’re given a piece of tobacco to be placed into the fire as an offering after they say a prayer, Laurie said.

“There tends to be a line up down the block in order to get into the circle, but it’s just a really lovely way to connect ourselves as settlers and Indigenous neighbours to the land that we share and the obligations that we are required to uphold,” she said. 

Two people are smudged with smoke during a traditional Indigenous ceremony.Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter Tabuns and Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher getting smudged at Blake Street Junior Public School’s annual fire ceremony for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. (Submitted by Valerie Laurie)

The prayers are dedicated to the children who died and the survivors in need of strength, Métis knowledge keeper and event co-organizer Lorraine Theed said. 

“Pray for them to have peace,” she said. “You can come out and you can partake or you can just light a candle at home and… just put prayers out to those that are suffering and those that need healing that they find their way.”

Donations will be collected to honour the knowledge keepers putting on the event and pay for the sacred plants in the smudging ceremony, Laurie said.

Bradley Museum tours 

Tuesday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Meadow Wood Park

Special programming and tours on Indigenous Peoples in Mississauga are planned at the Bradley Museum, a historic site that features four heritage buildings dating back to the 1820s. 

Tours are slated to run each half hour, free of charge. 

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s commemoration

4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Heart Lake Conservation Park

This event, located in Brampton, is collaboratively run by the Four Colours Drum Circle and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), and includes children’s activities plus a round dance.

The open ceremony, free to the public, is aimed at encouraging healing and remembrance.

An above shot of a busy Nathan Phillips Square ahead of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Nathan Phillips Square during the 2023 Indigenous Legacy Gathering ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (CBC)Follow CBC’s coverage of the day

CBC has an extensive lineup of Indigenous-led original programming showcasing First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and experiences across all platforms and in a live special.

CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault will be in Ottawa at 2 p.m. to host a 90-minute CBC News special live coverage for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. She will be joined by University of Manitoba professor, columnist and award-winning Anishinaabe author Niigaan Sinclair. This will be aired on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC News Network, CBC News streaming channels, CBCNews.ca, CBC News app and the CBC News YouTube Channel.

As part of the live news special, Earl Wood and Melissa Mollen Dupuis will host the annual national commemorative gathering Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Parliament Hill at 3 p.m. There will be moving performances by First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists, including the Eagle River Drum Group, DeeDee Austin, Burnstick, Julian Taylor and Susan Aglukark.

Falen Johnson will host a special program featuring highlights of the day as well as Indigenous content from across the country at 8 p.m. on CBC Radio and CBC Listen.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour service at 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat.