The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), together with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF), brought together Indigenous artists from across Canada to create a national commemorative marker that will honour the experiences of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students of Indian residential schools. The markers will be placed in communities where children attended residential schools or on or near the sites of former residential schools.

Five Indigenous artists gathered in Ottawa to participate in a one-week creative workshop to create a marker prototype that was publicly unveiled March 12. At the workshops, the artists engaged in discussions with residential school survivors and a steering committee made up of former students, Elders and advisors, including representatives from Carleton and Concordia universities, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and the National Gallery of Canada. The artists then began collaborating on the design and development of the Commemorative Marker.

The National Commemorative Marker Project is part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) of 2007, a multi-party agreement that includes the AFN and AHF. The initiative is designed to "memorialize in a tangible and permanent way the residential school experience" and provide an opportunity for continued truth-telling, healing and reconciliation. The last Indian Residential School in Canada closed in 1996.