News release details
As Canadians mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will offer everyone free admission on Wednesday, September 30.
Visitors can experience the Witness Blanket, a stunning, large‐scale artwork made from pieces of history – hundreds of items reclaimed from residential schools, churches, government buildings and other cultural structures across Canada. The Witness Blanket stands as a national monument to recognize the atrocities of the Indian residential school era and honour survivors, their families and the children who did not return home. The installation, by Indigenous artist and master carver Carey Newman/Ha̱yałka̱ng̱a̱me’, was inspired by a woven blanket and encourages visitors to bear witness and support ongoing reconciliation.
Stories about Indigenous rights can be found throughout the CMHR, from the Indigenous Perspectives gallery that features a 360‐degree film on Indigenous ways of knowing and being to the red dress exhibit: Reclaiming Power and Place in the Canadian Journeys gallery.
The Museum is also hosting a free online workshop for adults and workplaces called The Witness Blanket: Truth, Art and Reconciliation on Tuesday, September 29, in English from noon to 1:15 p.m. CT and in French from 1:30 to 2:45 CT. Through exploring the objects and stories carried in the Witness Blanket , this virtual professional development session invites participants to deepen their understanding of the residential school experience and to practise reconciliation through everyday ways of being and acting.
What
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Date
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Time
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Where
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Cost
Free