Did you know?
Sept. 30 was declared Orange Shirt Day several years ago, inspired by a story that a woman named Phyllis Webstad shared at a St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion event in 2013 in Williams Lake, British Columbia.
Webstad told people gathered at the St. Joseph Mission School Reunion of being stripped of her clothing on her first day at the residential school when she was 6 years old. Included in the clothing taken from her was a new orange shirt that her grandmother had purchased for her. It was never returned.
Orange Shirt Day became an annual day of remembrance in Canadian communities. This year, Canada declared Sept. 30 as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
People wear orange shirts because they symbolize how the residential school system took away the indigenous identity of many of its students. Orange Shirt Day was designated as such “in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well being,” and as an affirmation of the commitment to ensure that everyone matters, according to Orangeshirtday.org.
For more information and to read Webstad’s story in her own words, go to https://www.orangeshirtday.org.