September 1, 2022
By Alexandra De Pape, APTN Communications Coordinator
Sept. 30, 2022, will mark the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) in Canada. To honour this day of remembrance, APTN is inviting audiences across Turtle Island to tune in to a series of special programs on APTN and APTN lumi. As summer nears its end and a new season begins, we encourage Canadians to listen to and reflect on the experiences of Indigenous Peoples across the country. We can all learn from their stories of courage and resilience.
In partnership with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), APTN is producing a one-hour live broadcast and national commemorative gathering called Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which will take place at LeBreton Flats Park in Ottawa. The one-of-a-kind event will be led by children and residential school survivors and will air simultaneously across all APTN channels.
APTN will broadcast 35 hours of special programming to honour residential, day and boarding school survivors as well as their families and the children who never made it home. This special programming will begin at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2022. It will be available on all APTN channels, and later, on APTN lumi, for all our audiences to enjoy. The lineup features a range of educational and thought-provoking series and documentaries about the history and cultures of Indigenous Peoples.
SPECIAL NDTR PROGRAMMING ON APTN: SEPT. 29-30, 2022
WE WERE CHILDREN
In this feature film, the profound impact of the Canadian government’s residential school system is conveyed through the eyes of two children who were forced to face hardships beyond their years.
THE GRIZZLIES
A group of Inuit students in a small, struggling Arctic town form an unlikely bond when a new teacher introduces them to the game of lacrosse. This special team sport transforms their lives and their community forever.
ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF NOAH PIUGATTUK
In Kapuivik, North Baffin Island in 1961, Noah Piugattuk’s Inuit band lives and hunts by dog team, just as his ancestors did. When a white man known as Boss arrives at the camp, what appears to be a chance meeting soon opens up the prospect of momentous change.
MONKEY BEACH
A young Indigenous woman with supernatural abilities reflects on profound events in her life as she awaits news of her brother, who has gone missing at sea under questionable circumstances.
RECONCILIATION AND ME
Sarain Fox leads a meaningful conversation on truth and reconciliation with five youth allies. Guided by real-life Survivor stories, they reflect together to gain an understanding of reconciliation and the importance of relationships with Indigenous Peoples.
INDIAN HORSE
In the late 1950s, eight-year-old Saul Indian Horse is sent to a residential school, where he is denied his Ojibwe language and culture. Saul finds salvation in hockey, his favourite winter pastime, but the real battle has only just begun.
APTN SUNRISE CEREMONY
Greetings, ceremonies and prayers from different Indigenous regions to launch the special programming on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
EVERY CHILD MATTERS
Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education examines the path of reconciliation, guided by voices from residential school survivors, Elders, knowledge keepers, artists and leaders from nations and cultures across the country.
Nîpawistamâsowin: WE WILL STAND UP
Sensitively directed by Tasha Hubbard, this film follows the family of the late Colten Boushie, a young Cree man fatally shot in a Saskatchewan farmyard, as they demand justice from Canada’s legal system.
REMEMBERING THE CHILDREN: NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION – World Premiere
Remembering the Children is a one-hour live broadcast in recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This special program honours residential school survivors, their families, their communities and all the children who never made it home.
INENDI – APTN Premiere
Inendi follows Sarain Fox as she travels to a remote Indigenous community to visit Elder Mary Bell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fox is in a race against time to preserve her family’s legacy before the virus infiltrates their community.
IN JESUS’ NAME: SHATTERING THE SILENCE OF ST. ANNE’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL – APTN Premiere
In Jesus’ Name: Shattering the Silence of St. Anne’s Residential School is a poignant documentary that shares the stories of seven survivors who were forced as children to attend a notoriously violent residential school in Fort Albany First Nation, Ont.
MY INDIAN NAME – Broadcast Premiere
My Indian Name is a documentary that looks at the experiences of Indigenous Peoples who have been stripped of their traditional names. Today, Indigenous Peoples are resisting this assimilative practice and reclaiming the basic right to their original names.
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE STARWALKER – APTN Premiere
Recorded at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, this CBC special is a momentous musical celebration of the iconic singer-songwriter, Buffy Sainte-Marie. In addition to a performance from Buffy and her band, those she has inspired and mentored take the stage to honour her life’s work as a musician, visual artist, activist, educator and Oscar-winning composer.
SPECIAL NDTR PROGRAMMING ON APTN lumi: SEPT. 26 – OCT. 10, 2022
Available Sept. 26, 2022:
CONFRONTING THE PAST
This series takes an in-depth look at the history of the Sixties Scoop. The impacts of forced adoption are explored through the eyes of adoptees and their families alongside interviews from heads of child welfare agencies and social workers active the 1960s.
EVERY CHILD MATTERS (see description above)
FROM UP NORTH
This docudrama looks at Trudy Stewart’s personal journey as a statement gatherer for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
LOST MOCCASIN
Bradford Bilodeau is a Sixties Scoop survivor. This documentary follows him on his journey back to his home community, where he meets relatives for the first time and discovers what happened the day he and his siblings were taken away.
RECONCILIATION AND ME (see description above)
THE GRIZZLIES (see description above)
WE CAN’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE
Documenting a tense nine-year-long legal battle where child and family welfare services of Canada is accused of discrimination, this powerful documentary guides us through the legal system while advocating for Indigenous children’s welfare and rights.
WE WERE CHILDREN (see description above)
LIVE NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
Tune into this one-of-a-kind primetime special produced by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Learn about the history and tragedies of the residential school system and honour residential school survivors in ceremony.
INDIAN HORSE (see description above)
Available Sept. 30, 2022:
INENDI (see description above)
IN JESUS’ NAME: SHATTERING THE SILENCE OF ST. ANNE’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL (see description above)
MY INDIAN NAME (see description above)
Available Oct. 2, 2022:
REMEMBERING THE CHILDREN: NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION (see description above)
Available TBD
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE STARWALKER (see description above)
Catch all of these series and more on APTN and APTN lumi! For further details and to find promotional material on our featured programming, please visit APTN’s Media Centre.