ORANGE SHIRT DAY TOMORROW

NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION – ORANGE SHIRT DAY

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.

Tuesday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, which is also known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Please take steps to proceed with compassion and respect, as this day can hold different meanings amongst Indigenous students, staff and families.

We encourage HWDSB students and staff to wear orange to school and work on Tuesday, September 30 to honour survivors of Residential Schools and to centre the importance of intergenerational healing and wellness. Students can also participate by wearing one of the Orange Shirt Day stickers if they come to school without an orange shirt and would like to participate.

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.

Orange Shirt Day is a chance for us to become more familiar with residential schools as one form of cultural genocide that displaced many from ancestral homelands and deprived them of their first language and knowledge systems. We have a responsibility to learn, engage and participate. The burden of this day, and of Reconciliation in general, should not be carried by members of local Indigenous communities.

We encourage you to get involved in Reconciliation events happening near you, and, to deepen your own learning so that you may take action toward Reconciliation, Healing, and Hope.