Canada Post has unveiled a new set of Truth and Reconciliation stamps that highlight the Bentwood Box, a powerful national symbol of healing, resilience and hope.
The three stamp designs, announced in a Sept. 29 press release from Canada Post, mark the fourth issue in the Crown corporation’s Truth and Reconciliation series.
The Survivors Circle of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) selected the Bentwood Box as this year’s subject. Coast Salish artist Luke Marston of the Stz’uminus First Nation on Vancouver Island carved the box in 2009 from a single piece of old-growth red cedar. It travelled with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to its eight national events, where thousands of people placed personal and sacred items inside to symbolize their journeys toward healing and reconciliation.
Bentwood boxes are traditional to Canada’s Northwest Coast and have long been used for food storage, medicine, ceremonial regalia and cooking. Marston, a master carver from a family of artists, created the TRC’s box in the traditional style, infusing it with the stories and cultural knowledge of his Coast Salish heritage.
According to the release, this year’s issue includes three designs, each depicting a different side of the Bentwood Box that reflects First Nations, Inuit and Métis experiences with residential schools. One design shows crosses representing the churches that operated schools with the federal government, alongside raised hands symbolizing parents’ helplessness as children were taken from their homes. Another design focuses on Inuit experiences, with northern lights and stars representing lost ancestral knowledge. A third design incorporates the Métis infinity symbol, acknowledging children taken from Prairie and Eastern communities.
The back of the box features a carving of the Thunderbird, a symbol of Indigenous voices and resilience, which appears on the Official First Day Cover and inside the stamp booklet.
The stamps were cancelled in Winnipeg, home of the NCTR and the Bentwood Box. Stamp products – including a booklet of six featuring the three designs and an Official First Day Cover. The stamps are unavailable to buy during the current nationwide postal strike.
Below are images of the Booklet and OFDC:
Back of the Official First Day Cover
Inside Booklet
Truth and Reconciliation 2025 Booklet Cover.
Truth and Reconciliation 2025 Booklet Cover Back.
Truth and Reconciliation 2025 OFDC.
