Listening Is Part of the Work

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | September 30, 2026

Today we remember the children who never came home from residential schools. We honour Survivors, their families, and their communities, and recognize that the harms of the residential school system continue to be felt.

Made By: Kawartha Lakes is a new museum, still forming its collections, programs, and relationships. September 30 asks us to consider how we will do that work—and whose voices people will hear when they come to us to learn about this place.

The history of Kawartha Lakes did not begin with its townships or its city. The Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg have lived here across generations, and Indigenous Peoples remain part of this region today. The Rice Lake Treaty, also known as Treaty 20, was made in 1818; the Williams Treaties followed in 1923. These are essential parts of our local history, but dates and documents alone cannot tell us what Indigenous people have experienced or what they want others to understand.

A museum can research records. It must also recognize the limits of those records and of its own authority. Listening means seeking out the knowledge and perspectives Indigenous people have chosen to share, respecting what is not ours to interpret, and building relationships before deciding how stories should be presented. We are at the beginning of that work.

For today, we invite readers to spend time with resources created by Survivors and Indigenous organizations. They offer a place to begin learning and to keep learning after September 30.

Listen and learn

• National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation preserves the truths shared with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and offers opportunities to learn from Survivors. Its 94 Calls to Action include calls directed specifically at museums and archives.

• Anishinabek Nation: Our Story, Our History shares the Anishinabek Nation’s account of residential schools and their legacies. Its Resources and Learning page offers further paths for learning.

• Williams Treaties First Nations is a place to learn about the seven First Nations and the continuing treaty relationship connected to this region.

• Michi Saagiig Protocol Guide Book, developed at Trent University with guidance from Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers, introduces the Michi Saagiig communities on whose territory Trent is located.

Truth and reconciliation call for more than a statement made once a year. As Made By grows, we will keep asking whose knowledge guides our work, whose stories we share, and whether we have listened before we speak.