Good Day! We hope that everyone is staying safe and well.

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day which is an annual event that commemorates the residential schools experience. More specifically, it is a day that was started to honour the legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C. Orange Shirt Day was born from those events that brought together the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in, Southern Dakelh, St’at’imc  Nations and the Cariboo Regional District.

The date of September 30th was chosen because it was a time when students were taken from their homes to attend the schools. Phyllis Webstad, Executive Director of the Orange Shirt Society, attended St. Joseph Mission residential school where upon her arrival, an orange shirt that her grandmother had given her was taken away and never returned. To Phyllis Webstad, the colour orange symbolized that she did not matter.

There are a free online learning events that may interest FNT2T schools and educators:

• Free Orange Shirt Day Online Classroom (by Every Child Matters & Medicine Wheel Education) on Wednesday, September 16th, 2020 from 10 A.M. – 11:30 A.M (Pacific Standard Time). The link to the online learning session: https://medicinewheel.education/pages/osdbooklaunch (12 P.M. Central Standard Time). A link to this event will also be on Orange Shirt Day’s Facebook page.
• Orange Shirt Day Virtual event on September 30th, 2020 at 10 A.M – 2 P.M. (UTC time). This event is being hosted by The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to honour residential school survivors, their families, and communities. This is for Grades 5 -12. Teachers can register on behalf of their classroom (1 per classroom) on Eventbrite. Educators can select the events they wish to livestream for their students and download free educational resources. The link to register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/every-child-matters-chaque-enfant-compte-tickets-107741056400?aff=efbeventtix.

Additionally, Orange Shirt Day recently published a new resource book titled Orange Shirt Day: September 30th. It’s designed as a textbook for Grades 5+. It is available for purchase: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/new-book.html.

Miigwetch! Stay safe. Renew and revitalize!