Na-Me-Res hosts Sunrise Ceremony and Sacred Fire in Toronto on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Annual public event honours Indigenous communities impacted by residential schools and renews call for Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan to be completed

TORONTO, September 17, 2024 – Toronto’s non-profit Indigenous organization Na-Me-Res is taking to Hillcrest Park (950 Davenport Rd) on Monday, September 30th to host its third annual Day of Remembrance to commemorate National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The gathering will include a sunrise ceremony, sacred fire, traditional drumming and speeches that will honour the victims, survivors and the families impacted by residential schools in Canada as well as reignite calls for action on reconciliation.

The Day of Remembrance ceremony is a free-to-attend community event, open to everyone seeking to reflect on, honour and better understand the diverse history of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Metis people.

“There is still so much to do to reach reconciliation – from ensuring First Nations, Inuit and Meits communities have clean drinking water, proper funding for social programs and reforming laws to create equity and access to justice, to name a few. Today only 11 to 13 of the 94 calls to action in the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan have been completed – that is just around 13 percent,” said Steve Teekens, Executive Director, Na-Me-Res. “Yes, this September 30th ‘holiday’ provides a day for all Canadians to stop and reflect on our history, but it’s also a reminder that we have more to do now and in the future to achieve real rights and equality for Canada’s Indigenous people.”

“We invite and encourage all Canadians to observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by attending ceremonies like ours – getting to know Indigenous Peoples and learning about our history and our current reality is a significant way to break down negative stereotypes that can help heal some of the damage and change hearts and minds,”he added. 

Day of Remembrance ceremony, hosted by Na-Me-Res
Monday, September 30
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Hillcrest Park, 950 Davenport Rd, Toronto (Christie St. & Hillcrest Dr.,)

Na-Me-Res is a not-for-profit multi-service Indigenous-led organization based in Toronto that is dedicated to serving Indigenous men experiencing homelessness and Indigenous people in Toronto through streets to homes outreach, skills training, cultural reconnection, affordable housing and primary health care through its Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong Health clinic.

 
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation has become widely known as Orange Shirt Day. Inspired by Phyllis Webstad’s story of having her orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, ripped away on her first day at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School, her story became the driving force behind Orange Shirt Day and the words ‘Every Child Matters’.

Learn More about Na-Me-Res

Since 1985 Toronto-based non-profit Indigenous-led organization Na-Me-Res has provided outreach, temporary, transitional and permanent housing to Indigenous men living on the streets of Toronto through a culture-based approach that addresses the holistic needs of its clients. Na-Me-Res helps Indigenous men find their way back to pride and self-determination and firmly believes that the cure for homelessness is affordable housing. 

Understanding that the cure for homelessness is affordable housing, Na-Me-Res is on a mission to provide Indigenous-run safe and affordable units to their Indigenous clients who are homeless or are facing homelessness. The organization opened its third affordable housing project in July 2024 and is currently working on two more affordable housing projects as well as a men’s low-barrier shelter in collaboration with the City of Toronto, which are set to open over the next two years. 

In keeping true to its mission of caring for the whole person, Na-Me-Res operates an Indigenous Primary Health Clinic called Auduzhe Mino Nesewinong, which means the Place of Healthy Breathing. Located at 22 Vaughan Road in Toronto, Auduzhe provides primary care services to the Indigenous community across Toronto.

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