Community Event: Survivors Flag Raising Ceremony

Survivor Flag Raising Ceremony

9:30 am to 10:30 am 

Hillcrest Park/ Host: City of Thunder Bay

The City of Thunder Bay will raise the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s official Residential School Survivors flag at Hillcrest Park to honour the survivors of the Indian Residential School system, and to acknowledge the thousands of children who never made it home.

The event will take place from 9:30- 10:30 am on Friday, Sept. 30, marking the second official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. It will be led by a member of the City’s Anishinaabe Elders Council.

Following the guidance of the City’s Anishinaabe Elders Council, we will fly this flag at half mast until the last of the children are found, however long that takes. The site of the flagpole at Hillcrest has a commanding view over the City and surrounding area. On most days, you can spot Anemki Wajiw (Thunder Mountain) and the Nanabijou (the Sleeping Giant), but more importantly an observer can look out over the four directions.

When the flag at Hillcrest Park is raised and to half mast, the flags at City Hall will be raised again to full staff. Out of respect, they have been flying at half mast since the discovery of the first unmarked graves just over one year ago. Flying the Survivors flag at half mast in this manner is an act that recognizes that the Indigenous community here, and across the nation, are still in mourning. Our goal is that it helps contribute, in some small way, to the healing which is needed. It is our hope that every child will one day be found, and then the flag will fly high as a symbol of strength, support, and the incredible resilience of Residential School Survivors.

Next year, the City will construct a sitting area at the location of the flagpole to host future events and to offer those who want it, a place to offer tobacco, hold ceremony, or sit in quiet reflection. Coming soon - concept drawing completed by landscape architects in the City’s Parks and Open Spaces office. 

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Survivors Flag

Interested in finding out what the official NCTR Survivors flag stands for and how it was created? Each element represents something and has special meaning. Learn more about the flag.