SEPTEMBER 30TH IS ORANGE SHIRT DAY

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the Spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis Webstad’s account of losing her shiny new orange shirt on her first day at a residential school. She recalls her orange shirt being forcibly removed, never allowed to wear it again. This story is an opportunity to keep the conversation going with all aspects of residential schools and anti-racism in Canada; and to expand our understanding around the historical events that have impacted and continue to influence interactions between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples; and to recognize the experience of residential school survivors, to honour them, and to show a collective commitment to ensure that every child matters.

This initiative calls for every Canadian to wear an orange shirt on September 30th in the spirit of healing and reconciliation.