Orange Shirt Day – September 30
Dear Parents/Caregivers and Families:
Mino Bimaadiziwin – Good Life [1]
Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton – I to all of you am sending greetings, love and respect, in a balanced way from my consciousness to yours, with deepest heart felt emotion, expressed audibly [2].
Greetings! Welcome!
We extend greetings to all learners, our future leaders, and helpers, as they continue their studies.
We also extend greetings to the families of the Hamilton-Wentworth school community as we begin this new year.
Each greeting is carefully reflective of Indigenous (Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee) cultural mindsets that are always based in traditional cultural values and inclusive of an inherent expectation of wellness and safety.
Together, we place our greatest honour and extend greetings to learners, parents/caregivers, families, and communities of HWDSB.
Summary: Orange Shirt Day – National Day for Truth & Reconciliation
At HWDSB, we respect the longstanding relationships with the neighbouring and host nations, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the Six Nations of the Grand River. We also acknowledge the vibrant and diverse urban Indigenous community in Hamilton.
Saturday, September 30, 2023, is Orange Shirt Day, which is also known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Flags across HWDSB will be flown at half-mast on this day.
We encourage HWDSB students and staff to wear orange to school and work on Friday, September 29 to honour survivors of Residential Schools and to center the importance of intergenerational healing and educational wellness. For students and staff who do not have an orange shirt, and wish to participate, Orange Shirt Day stickers have been made available at each school.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Phyllis Webstad, Indian Residential School Survivor of St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School in British Columbia, and why we wear orange shirts, please click here.
EVERY CHILD MATTERS: A message for learners, caregivers, families, and communities
September can feel like a roller coaster. It starts by welcoming a new school year, new goals, and dreams. It ends with Orange Shirt Day, also called National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, intended to commemorate the legacy of Canada’s historic policy on Indian Education.
This month represents how we untangle the intersection of education and intergenerational trauma. We know that our Ancestors negotiated education as a treaty right. It is outlined in the Silver Covenant Chain, and the Friendship belt. They understood that we would need education for our on-going survival.
Orange Shirt Day is a chance for us to become more familiar with Ancestral Knowledge systems and Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing to help heal cultural genocide that displaced many from ancestral homelands, deprived of traditional language and knowledge systems.
We continue to untangle the legacy, not only on this day, or in this month, but across all spaces and places of the education system in hopes of creating a clear delineation between trauma and walking forward in healing and educational wellness.
In maintaining the hopes, intentions, and dreams of our Ancestors, we continue to revitalize our languages, cultures, ceremonies, governance, and territory/land in meaningful ways to benefit all learners, parents/caregivers, families, and communities.
This year we introduce ourselves as the Indigenous Education Department, responsible for advancing the Indigenous Education Circle Strategic Action Plan’s (IECSAP). The Restorative Indigenous Educational Wellness Framework’s five pillars – Revillagize, Reclaim, Renew, Restore and Celebrate – create the opportunity to have collective voices raised to honour education, commemoration, and healing/wellness.
Learners, parents/caregivers, families and the broader HWDSB community are encouraged to think about the meaning of Truth and Reconciliation: what does Truth & Reconciliation mean to you?
As we are Walking Together in the principles of skén:nen (peace), kahsatsthénshera (power), ka’nikonhrí:yo (good mind)[3] and mino bimaadiziwin (good life)[4], how are you contributing to your individual and collective healing as we journey towards Restorative Indigenous Educational Wellness?
We stand with open minds, open hearts, and open arms, as we welcome your voices, perspectives, and positive contributions into this restorative circle, our educational village.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED IN EVERY CHILD MATTERS AND NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH & RECONCILIATION EVENTS AND INITIATIVES:
Tomorrow, September 28, CC:ROSE (Cultivating Community: Reclaiming Our Spaces in Education) and the Indigenous Education family is hosting Every Child Matters: Walking Together. The event is taking place at Hill Park Learning Centre.
For this Orange Shirt Day event, the HWDSB community has been invited to wear orange and join in a turkey dinner and screening of Silent No More. The film gives viewers a virtual tour of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School, the first and longest operating residential school in Canada. Special guests include Mohawk Village Memorial Park, Survivors of the Mohawk Institute, The Gathering Song composer Carson Allard, and Chris Ashkewe, Associate Director of Woodland Cultural Centre, the former site of the Mohawk Institute. To learn more about commemoration, education, and healing/wellness opportunities, or how to get involved please visit the Indigenous Education webpage.
In the spirit of #EVERYCHILDMATTERS, we also take time to remember that September 28th is National British Home Child Day.
In the greater Hamilton community, on September 29 and 30, we highlight the two-day event being planned by the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC) at Gage Park. On Saturday, September 30, witness the Public Art Ceremony and celebrate Hamilton’s newest work of public art – ‘All Our Relations’ led by local Indigenous artist Angela DeMontigny – while honouring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A wide range of professional learning and resources can also be accessed through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.
Skén:nen/In peace,
Jolene John, Indigenous Education Lead
Sue Dunlop, Associate Director, School Improvement
Sheryl Robinson Petrazzini, Director of Education
Family Resources
- Indigenous Education Circle Strategic Action Plan (IECSAP)
- Orange Shirt Day website
- Orange Shirt Day resource created by HWDSB’s Indigenous Education Team, which has more details including a video from Sherlene Bomberry, a Residential School Survivor.
- Woodland Cultural Centre – to learn more about the Mohawk Institute Residential School, established in 1828 near Brantford. One of the oldest Residential Schools in Canada.
- Mohawk Village Memorial Park a Mohawk Institute Residential School Survivor Initiative
- Legacy of Hope– national Indigenous charitable organization with the mandate to educate and create awareness and understanding about the Residential School System.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Crisis Supports
- National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-866-925-4419.
- Tips for adults supporting children and youth after distressing events
- Mental health and well-being supports: www.hwdsb.on.ca/wehelp
[1] Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe language) translation provided by Martina Osawamick
[2] Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk language) translation provided by Tehahenteh
[3] Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk language) and Rotinonysyonni/Haudenosaunee principles
[4] Anishnaabemowin (Ojibwe language) and Anishinaabe principle
Updated on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.