The annual Orange Shirt Day on September 30th opens the conversation about Residential Schools. The date was chosen because it is the time of year that Indigenous children were taken from their homes to residential schools. Orange shirts are worn to remember the experience of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad on her first day at residential school when her new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her.
Orange Shirt Day is more formally known as Truth and Reconciliation Day, a day that brings reflection for societal change regarding racism and discrimination for Indigenous persons in Canada.
When you wear an orange shirt on September 30th, you commit that every child matters, every day.
