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 Tuesday, 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.
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.
Students and staff of Frank Panabaker, are encouraged to wear orange on Tuesday, September 30th, to honour the children whose lives were lost and the
survivors of Residential Schools.