[Skip to Content]
HWDSB Building

Wednesday, September 30 – Orange Shirt Day

[Skip to Content]
Textsize
A+ A-

Wednesday, September 30 – Orange Shirt Day

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 Wednesday, September 30, we will recognize Orange Shirt Day to honour the survivors, victims and lasting effects of Canada’s Residential Schools. ​As we know – or need to know – 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.

 

The date September 30 was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to Residential Schools. It also gives school systems time to set the stage for Indigenous education, equity, and inclusion initiatives for the coming school year.

 

Wearing orange helps raise awareness of the Residential School experience, ensures that every child knows they matter, and works toward a better future for all people. The orange shirt became significant due to the story of Phyllis Webstad, who in the early 1970s had her orange shirt taken away on her first day at the Residential School St. Joseph Mission (SJM) in British Columbia.

 

I encourage you to wear orange on Wednesday, September 30 to honour the lives lost and survivors of Residential Schools. Also, we must denounce the acts of racism that have occurred in the past and that still occur in Canada against Indigenous Peoples and communities.

Updated on Tuesday, September 29, 2020.
Back to the top