Orange Shirt Day was designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the
healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of
reconciliation. Chief Justice Murray Sinclair challenged all of the participants to keep the reconciliation
process alive, and as a result of the realization that every former student had similar stories.
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of this project. As spokesperson for the Reunion group leading up to the
events, former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad told her story of her first day at residential school when her
shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl.