University Panel Event & Heart Garden Installation

On Wednesday, September 30, the University will host a panel event in keeping with past traditions for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The panel will respond to the Heart Garden reflection question and to The Knowing, offering a way to model reconciliation in action for the university community.

Attendees are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on September 30 as a visible act of remembrance and solidarity, honouring Residential School Survivors, the children who never returned home, and all those impacted by the legacy of residential schools. Inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s story, the orange shirt reminds us that Every Child Matters and invites us to reflect, learn, and take meaningful action toward reconciliation.

The panel is comprised of non-Indigenous respondents, representing a range of roles and perspectives. The conversation will create space for non-Indigenous staff, faculty and students to share what they are learning, how they are reflecting on their responsibilities, and how they are carrying this learning forward beyond one day or one month. This supports continued dialogue, accountability and lifelong learning, while encouraging non-Indigenous community members to consider their roles in advancing reconciliation through everyday practice, institutional responsibility and sustained action.

The event will be held on the Keele Campus in the Helliwell Centre and live-streamed, with additional in-person live-stream viewing available at Glendon in the Theatre and at Markham in MK2050.

Registration is required. Please register online at https://yorku.ca/go/Truth&Reconciliation2026.

Following the panel, in-person participants will be invited to Skennen’kó:wa Gamig for refreshments and time in the Heart Garden installation, which will be installed earlier that morning, weather permitting.