Orange Shirt Day is the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who is a former student the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC. This school operated from 1891 till 1981. Many student deaths were recorded throughout the school's history. Multiple inquiries looking into conditions at the school took place. When the school was closed, several members of the school's staff were sentenced to jail time for sexual abuse. In May of 2013, former students, including Chief Robbins gathered for a reunion and commemoration project and the idea of Orange Shirt Day came to be.
Orange shirts commemorate the story of Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor who was stripped of her new orange shirt when she was 6 years old and attending a residential school. In Phyllis says, “The color orange has always reminded me of that, how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared & how I felt like I was worth nothing.
Orange Shirt Day is a day to proclaim Every Child Matters and show our support and to reaffirm survivors and the families of the victims and show them they matter. It's a time to learn more about residential schools and talk about the effects they continue to have and be part of working and action for meaningful reconciliation. For this to happen, you and I have to go beyond just one day. It's wonderful to wear an Orange Shirt on Orange Shirt Day, but the work and commitment needed to make meaningful reconciliation and continue healing for those affected by residential schools has to happen everyday.
Orange shirts commemorate the story of Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor who was stripped of her new orange shirt when she was 6 years old and attending a residential school. In Phyllis says, “The color orange has always reminded me of that, how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared & how I felt like I was worth nothing.
Orange Shirt Day is a day to proclaim Every Child Matters and show our support and to reaffirm survivors and the families of the victims and show them they matter. It's a time to learn more about residential schools and talk about the effects they continue to have and be part of working and action for meaningful reconciliation. For this to happen, you and I have to go beyond just one day. It's wonderful to wear an Orange Shirt on Orange Shirt Day, but the work and commitment needed to make meaningful reconciliation and continue healing for those affected by residential schools has to happen everyday.
Learn More about Orange Shirt Day and the Orange Shirt Society HERE
City Of Kitchener Indigenous Reconciliation Information HERE
Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Equity
(RISE) Fund Grants - Apply HERE
(RISE) Fund Grants - Apply HERE
