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About NCTR

The NCTR is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. 

The NCTR was created as part of the mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). The TRC was charged to listen to Survivors, their families, communities and others affected by the residential school system and educate Canadians about their experiences. The resulting collection of statements, documents and other materials now forms the sacred heart of the NCTR.

The NCTR Archives and Collections is the foundation for ongoing learning and research. Here, Survivors, their families, educators, researchers, and the public can examine the residential school system more deeply with the goal of fostering reconciliation and healing.

Graphic with text "781: A story of sports and survival in Canadian residential school"

Ka-kí-kiskéyihtétan óma, namoya kinwés maka aciyowés pohko óma óta ka-hayayak wasétam askihk, ékwa ka-kakwéy miskétan kiskéyihtamowin, iyinísiwin, kistéyitowin, mina nánisitotatowin kakiya ayisiniwak, ékosi óma kakiya ka-wahkotowak.

Cree Proverb

NCTR News

“Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” September 30 on Parliament Hill

TREATY 1 TERRITORY, WINNIPEG, Man., Sept. 17, 2024 — APTN, CBC/Radio-Canada, and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) …

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Updated: Federal Government funding cap for residential school searches

Critical Questions Remain around Federal Commitment to Residential School Search Processes The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) welcomes …

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Federal Government imposes arbitrary cap on funding for residential school searches

Federal government breaks commitment to families and communities by imposing arbitrary cap on funding for residential school searches The National …

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Your Records

The NCTR is your Centre. The stories and records cared for by the NCTR are a crucial part of the shared history of Canada. Understanding these truths is a vital foundation for the future. 

Our mandate ensures Survivors and their families have access to their own history while preserving their truths for all of Canada, for all time.

We provide a safe, trusted and accessible home for all the documents, materials and former student statements collected by the TRC during its mandate. We are also home to a growing collection of other documents and materials related to the history of residential schools, their legacy, and the ongoing efforts of Indigenous peoples to revitalize and restore their diverse cultures and traditions.

By incorporating Indigenous perspectives, values, laws and protocols, we are creating something new — we are striving to decolonize the archive and be built on principles of respect, honesty, wisdom, courage, humility, love and truth.

This is just the beginning.

Group of students sitting, standing, and some sitting on the others shoulders.

View Your Records


Explore, learn and engage through the archives of the NCTR — the spiritual heart of the Centre. Discover the vast collection of public documents, photos and reports created, co-created or collected by the TRC as well as our growing archive of more recent gifts. 

Preserve Your Records


Preserving and sharing the records and history of Canada’s residential school system is a sacred obligation. The NCTR is a safe and secure space for Indigenous histories and other materials for Indigenous communities. We invite Survivors, their families, and others whose lives have been impacted by residential schools to continue to share your truths and experiences in any form you wish.

Access Your Records


We make more than five million records accessible while respecting privacy and cultural protocols — the materials and level of access vary depending on who is making the request.

Memorial

The National Student Memorial Register was created to remember and honour the children who never returned home from residential schools, now and into the future.

The NCTR is continuing the work begun by the TRC to identify as many of these children as possible. This sensitive, essential part of our collective journey of truth and reconciliation has been guided by Survivors and Indigenous peoples from coast to coast to coast.

Group of children playing on swing set.

Browse the NCTR Shop

Order copies of the Calls to Action booklet, Orange Shirt Day t-shirts, and a variety of NCTR merchandise featuring our logo and its visual message of healing, truth and reconciliation.

Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action booklet.

NCTR’s spirit name – bezhig miigwan, meaning “one feather”.

Bezhig miigwan calls upon us to see each Survivor coming to the NCTR as a single eagle feather and to show those Survivors the same respect and attention an eagle feather deserves. It also teaches we are all in this together — we are all one, connected, and it is vital to work together to achieve reconciliation.