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 Friday, September 29, 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 Viscount Montgomery are encouraged to wear orange on Friday, September 29, to honour the children whose lives were lost and the survivors of Residential Schools.

Thank-you!