Orange Shirt Day, September 30, is a day to honour and uphold Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors of the Indian Residential School system, and to commemorate those who didn’t return home.
Between the late 1800s and 1996, the Government of Canada and church organizations operated the Indian Residential School System. An estimated 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children were removed from their families, homes, languages and lands. The last Indian Residential School closed in 1996.
The Orange Shirt Day movement (#EveryChildMatters) was started by Phyllis Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation and former residential school student, to honour Survivors. Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultural identities to engage with the legacies of the residential school system.
Among the events at UBC tomorrow are an All Day Sacred Fire Ceremony at xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden and the fourth Intergenerational March from 12 to 3pm, from the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre to the Reconciliation Pole, Main Mall.
September 30 is a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. All graduate students, and the UBC community at large, is encouraged to explore and learn more about the history of residential schools in Canada.
- 6 ways to deepen your understanding of Indian residential school history
- What are Indian day schools? 3 things you might not know
- 3 things you might not know about Orange Shirt Day
- Indian residential schools
Beyond wearing orange: How to meaningfully mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Global News interviewed five Indigenous people, including UBC graduate student Danilo Caron (PhD, Civil Engineering), to get their thoughts on what to do for Orange Shirt Day.
UBC Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is committed to ongoing engagement and dialogue, listening and learning in solidarity to support reconciliation.
How are you recognizing the day? Let us know by sharing your thoughts on MyCommunity or on social.