Walk for Reconciliation 2026
Event Date: National Indigenous Peoples Day
The Walk for Reconciliation is a day to reflect on the difficult history of this land and honour the survivors, and the children who never returned home. It’s a day to recognize the inter-generational impacts of residential schools on individuals, families, and communities. Held on National Indigenous Peoples Day, it is also a celebration of the vibrant and lively Indigenous communities and cultures that still exist today.
8:30 am: Gathering at Harry Hays Building | 220 4 Ave SE
9 am: Start walk at Harry Hays Building | 220 4 Ave SE
10 am: Walk ends at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland | 750 9th Ave SEA free community meal and coffee courtesy of Tim Hortons East Village will be available for the first 500 participants.
10:15 am: Outdoor gathering with speeches, truth telling from residential school survivors, and performances by drummers and dancers.
11 am – 1 pm: Community programming, including learnings from a Treaty 7 Elder, Indigenous games, free admission to The Confluence Cultural Centre and activations at Calgary’s oldest building, Hunt House.
Thank you to our partners for supporting this event and making this gathering possible: Trellis Society, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, and Bow Valley College. Thank you to The City of Calgary at the Team at Tim Hortons East Village for supporting the walk.
Why We Walk
From 1883 to 1996, upwards of 150,000 children were put through the federal residential school system in Canada. First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were removed from their homes and families and underwent a violent removal of their identities and culture.
Children who attended these schools were subjected to all forms of abuse, and there were many children who never returned home. As determined by the Canadian House of Commons in October 2022, these church-run and federally funded schools were an attempted genocide of Indigenous Peoples to gain control of land and resources.
On June 11, 2008, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a full apology on behalf of Canadians for the Indian Residential School System. After decades of this violence and loss being minimized, unacknowledged or outright denied, this apology was a monumental step towards truth.
The Walk for Reconciliation is a day to reflect on the difficult history of this land and honour the survivors, and the children who never returned home. It’s a day to recognize the inter-generational impacts of residential schools on individuals, families, and communities. Held on National Indigenous Peoples Day, it is also a celebration of the vibrant and lively Indigenous communities and cultures that still exist today.