Slideshow: The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
See how people marked the day in Ottawa, Iqaluit and in smaller Nunavut communities
Led by Jack Anawak, a former federal politician and residential school survivor, a crowd marches into Iqaluit Square on the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Thursday. (Photo by David Lochead)
To mark the first-ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, communities across Canada held vigils, marches and other gatherings to reflect on the lives lost in residential schools, honour the survivors and look toward building a better future for Indigenous people.
In Ottawa, thousands gathered on Parliament Hill, where survivors shared their stories from residential school and young musicians dedicated singing and drumming performances to the children who lost their lives.
In Iqaluit, hundreds gathered near Four Corners and then marched to commemorate the day. Smaller gatherings took place in communities across Nunavut.
The crowd at Parliament Hill surrounds a makeshift memorial to children who died in residential schools. The small shoes were initially placed as a memorial to the 215 unmarked graves found in Kamloops, B.C. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Nothing says a day on the beach and a night In a multi million dollar beach house like Truth and Reconciliation.