Toronto continued a weekend of programming to commemorate the fourth National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Monday with a sunrise ceremony at Nathan Phillips Square.
The city is partnering with Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre to present the seventh annual Indigenous Legacy Gathering at the square.
The gathering honours residential school survivors, their children and communities through activities including workshops, presentations, stories and performances, according to the city’s website. It began on Friday and continues on through Monday.
People can attend the gathering for free, the city said.
Flags at city hall, civic centres and other city facilities will be lowered to half-mast on Monday, according to the city’s website.
Free workshops on teaching lodge, teepee design
The city is opening an Indigenous spirit garden on Monday in front of city hall.
As its centrepiece, the garden has a large turtle sculpture made of limestone. Elements that represent First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures surround the turtle and include a teaching lodge, a silver voyageur canoe and an inukshuk made out of granite.
On Monday afternoon, the public can attend a cultural workshop at Nathan Phillips Square on the design and building of traditional teaching lodges. John Keeshig Mayawaasige, a knowledge keeper, will host and guide the design of the teaching lodge inside the spirit garden.
The workshop is running at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., according to an online guide posted by the Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre.
All workshops are on a first-come, first-served basis, the guide says.
There is also a workshop on teepee design and its historical usage at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Attendees will craft their own personal teepee that they can take home with them.
Another workshop is focused on how to make sweetgrass medicine mist. Hosted by Roots + Raven, an Indigenous-woman owned bath and body care brand, the workshop runs at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Performances on Monday kick off at 1 p.m. with the Manitou Mkwa Singers, a family hand drum group from the Mississaugas of the Credit.
The square is also hosting a marketplace of Indigenous artists and artisans, featuring crafts, jewellery, clothing and paintings.