Orange Shirt Day/National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
At HWDSB, we respect the longstanding relationships with the local Indigenous communities, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River.
On Thursday, September 30, we wear orange to honour the story of Phyllis Webstad, who in the early 1970s had her orange shirt taken away on her first day at the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School in British Columbia. Flags across HWDSB will fly at half-mast this day.
The orange shirt is symbolic of how Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes, families and communities to attend state and church-led schools that stripped them of their culture, language and identity. This created irreversible harm from which many families still suffer.
We encourage you to wear orange to honour the children whose lives were lost and the survivors of Residential Schools. Beginning in May, 2021, 215 bodies were uncovered at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, and since then, over 6,100 bodies in unmarked graves have been unearthed.
Indigenous families and communities have known this truth for a long time, as reflected in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report. Many children went to Residential Schools, never to come home. We denounce the acts of racism that have occurred in the past and that still occur in Canada against Indigenous Peoples and communities.
Earlier this month, we sent each HWDSB school Orange Shirt Day, Every Child Matters stickers, to give to any students or staff who forgot to wear orange and wish to participate on Thursday, September 30.
Orange Shirt Day now coincides with a federal statutory holiday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We respect and support the healing journey of Indigenous students and staff, who grieve the loss of children, honour survivors and heal from past and ongoing traumas.
At HWDSB, this is a day for students, staff, families and community partners to reflect on the meaning of Truth and Reconciliation and our responsibility to make meaningful change.
Sue Dunlop, Associate Director, Learning Services (Indigenous Education)
Manny Figueiredo, Director of Education
Letter to families – Orange Shirt Day
Updated on Wednesday, July 03, 2024.