September 30 is Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour residential school Survivors and intergenerational Survivors, their families and communities, and the children who never came home.
It is also a day to learn. Understanding the history and ongoing legacy of the residential school system and colonialism is an important part of reconciliation. Reading, watching, and listening to Indigenous-created works can help us encounter that history and its impacts through the voices and experiences of Indigenous Peoples.
This year, ORL Adult Services staff have created a new ORL Reads reading list featuring contemporary Indigenous voices and perspectives. Through memoir, essays, fiction, personal histories, and reflections on reconciliation, these books offer many different places to begin, or continue, your reading.
Orange Shirt Day: A Story That Became A Movement
Orange Shirt Day began as a grassroots movement inspired by the experiences of residential school Survivor Phyllis Webstad, who attended St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, B.C. Her story helped inspire a movement that has grown into an opportunity for people across Canada to learn about residential schools and honour Survivors, their families, and communities. Webstad continues that story in her new 2026 book, w7ec N7élye Ey: We Are Still Here: A Life of Truth and Reconciling Two Worlds, one of the selections on this year’s ORL Reads list.
In it, Webstad shares her life story, including her experiences at residential school and the journey that eventually led to the Orange Shirt Day movement. Her new book is also a reminder of something reflected throughout this reading list: the history we commemorate on September 30 continues to shape lives, communities, and conversations today.
Contemporary Voices, Different Perspectives
There is no single book or perspective that can capture the breadth of Indigenous experiences in Canada. The ORL Reads – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026 list brings together 11 works offering different stories, experiences, and perspectives.
Readers can explore The Knowing by Tanya Talaga, Truth Telling: Seven Conversations About Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good, and True Reconciliation: How to Be a Force for Change by Jody Wilson-Raybould.
Memoir and personal storytelling are also well represented, with Jesse Thistle’s From the Ashes, Tomson Highway’s Permanent Astonishment, and Jordin Tootoo’s Mind Over Matter. The list also includes fiction from Amanda Peters, whose Waiting for the Long Night Moon explores family, community, identity, and connection.
More recent works, including Julian Brave NoiseCat’s We Survived the Night: An Indigenous Reckoning and the collection A Steady Brightness of Being: Truths, Wisdom, and Love From Celebrated Indigenous Voices, add still more voices to a conversation that continues to evolve. Together, these books offer opportunities to learn about the past while listening to Indigenous writers telling their own stories and examining Indigenous life in Canada today.
Reading Beyond September 30
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an opportunity to commemorate, listen, learn, and talk about the history and ongoing legacy of residential schools. That learning can continue throughout the year. Whether you choose one title or work your way through the entire list, we hope these books introduce you to stories and perspectives that encourage you to keep reading and learning.
Explore the complete ORL Reads – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 2026 reading list.
Image credit: Joli Rumi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Need More Help?
Call us at 1-844-649-8127 or email help@orl.bc.ca. Please include as many details as you can about your question, account, or device. This helps us support you more quickly and accurately.
Library card expired? Reach out to your local branch or visit eRenew to renew your membership online. It’s quick and easy.
