Since 2021, September 30 has been observed as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. While the nationally recognized day is relatively new, it has been long overdue. September 30 provides an opportunity for communities to honour residential school Survivors and those who never made it home, while also creating space to recognize and share Indigenous cultures and traditions.
There is no one right way to mark the day, and gatherings can look quite different from community to community. This year, Kicking Horse Culture, the Métis Nation Columbia River Society and Local Food Matters worked together to plan a special version of the Wednesday farmers market in Spirit Square for Orange Shirt Day.
The event ran during regular market hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and began with an Elder’s prayer before featuring performances from Métis musicians. At noon, a drumming circle began, offering a chance for community members to experience the music and participate themselves.
Karen Nagao spoke about the process of creating the drum and the significance behind the performance. The Métis Nation Columbia River’s drum was built four years ago, but the group is still relatively new to playing it publicly. Earlier this year, members took part in an intensive workshop with Salish Star, a drum group from Chilliwack, to learn songs and protocols.
“We are a very, very brand new fledgling drum group,” Nagao explained. “We built this drum four years ago, and then unfortunately, it just kind of sat for a while. No one played it. We were learning some protocols about how to properly open it.”
The group opened the drum with a prayer and an offering of tobacco before beginning its first song, “Golden Nugget,” a chicken dance song written by one of their teachers from Salish Star, Helena Mussels.
Nagao explained that the protocols surrounding the drum are an important part of the experience.
“The song and the prayer and the offering of tobacco are to thank the animal who gave its life, the trees that gave their lives for us to build this drum, thank the Creator, and just sort of acknowledge and honour the drum.”
The group then welcomed members of the crowd to come forward and try the drum for themselves. Children and adults gathered around the large drum, taking turns experiencing its rhythm before another group of volunteers was invited to participate in a singing exercise.
For Nagao, the drum carries a significance that goes beyond music.
“Since the beginning of time, the first heartbeat, within the first creature, the drumbeat has been there. The first heartbeat, the creature here within its mother’s womb, is a drumbeat. And the drum, all over the world, has been a mimic of that.”
She explained that the drum can also be used for prayer, remembrance, healing and celebration.
“Drum beats have been offered as prayers, which is what we do at the big round drum. Prayers, requests for weather and health, for remembrance of those people that have been lost, to bring on energy before war, and for love. And for entertainment.”
The drumming circle offered a way for the community to participate while still recognizing the significance of the day. Rather than simply watching a performance, people were invited to gather around the drum, listen, sing and experience its rhythm for themselves.
Nagao described the feeling the big round drum can create for those hearing it.
“They touch something deep within your core. And feel free to let the tears run, because that’s something that often is a result that people have felt with the big round drum.”
September 30 is a day of remembrance, and the history it asks Canadians to confront cannot be undone. The harm caused by the residential school system continues to affect Indigenous people, families and communities.
At the same time, the drum circle offered a reminder that Indigenous cultures and traditions continue to live, grow and be shared. Watching children gather around the drum and take part in the music offered a moment of hope for the future, and a reminder of the importance of learning from the past while making space for Indigenous voices, culture and joy today.
