September 30th is Orange Shirt Day
- Wear an orange shirt or something orange (if you’re buying a shirt, make sure the proceeds support Indigenous groups)
- Take time to learn more about Canada’s Indian Residential Schools (there are books and resources below)
- Talk to children about residential schools.
What is the goal of Orange Shirt Day?
Orange Shirt Day was created as an opportunity to discuss the effects of residential schools and their legacy. It honours the experiences of Indigenous Peoples, celebrates resilience and affirms a commitment that every child matters.
How do you explain Orange Shirt Day to kids?
It’s a day to honour children that survived residential school, and to remember the lives that were lost. Wearing orange is a symbol of respect and mourning. This year, September 30 also marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. You may not know the tragic history of residential schools.
What does Orange Shirt Day symbolize and why?
It is the 8th annual day in recognition of the damage done by the residential school system. Orange Shirt Day was inspired by Phyllis Jack Webstad, a Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation elder in Williams Lake, B.C. She wore a bright orange shirt to her first day of residential school in 1973 when she was six years old.
What do you wear on National Indigenous Peoples day?
This date is an opportunity to educate people and promote awareness about the Indian Residential School system and the impact this system had on Indigenous communities for more than a century in Canada, and which still does today. Canadians are encouraged to wear an orange shirt on this day.
Why do we wear orange for indigenous people?
The purpose of wearing orange is to show a unified step towards reconciliation and building stronger relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
What Does every child matter mean?
It is an expression of the belief that all children are important, including the ones left behind at residential schools and adults who are still healing from the trauma they endured there.
How do you talk to kids about residential schools?
Approach conversations with compassion and gratitude
“I would say, you know, there was a time not so long ago when this happened, when children from families were taken away to a school and some of those children did not come home,” Cadwallader said. “Some of them died in those schools. And it was sad and it was awful.
Who gets Orange Shirt Day off?
That’s because only two provinces and two territories have followed the federal government’s lead of 2021 and declared Sept. 30 – also known as Orange Shirt Day – a statutory holiday with pay in 2022. They are Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Why was orange chosen for every child matters?
While the colour orange used to symbolize to Phyllis Webstad that she didn’t matter, today it represents hope that Indigenous families and communities are healing. It has become a symbol of defiance and a commitment to a better future. The orange shirt now represents hope and reconciliation.
Why do we wear orange shirts on September 30th?
Every year on September 30, we observe Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour survivors and ancestors who perished from residential schools, as well as families and communities who continue to be affected.
How do you honor Indigenous people?
How to Celebrate and Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Identify and acknowledge the Native land you live on.
- Attend a celebration hosted by an Indigenous organization that honors Indigenous people and cultures.
- Take part in an online or in-person event, such as those hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian.
What color do you wear on Indigenous Peoples Day?
Orange Shirt
September 30 is “Orange Shirt Day” in Canada, a day to remember the history and legacies of the residential school system for First Nations people.
How can you show respect to the Indigenous people?
How can I show my respect?
- Learn about Aboriginal culture, for example by reading texts written by Aboriginal authors.
- Resist the urge to propose solutions for Aboriginal issues, but rather listen deeply.
- Ask questions during workshops or cultural events you visit.
- Avoid stereotypes.
- Consult, consult, consult.
When can I wear my orange shirt?
September 30th
September 30th marks Orange Shirt Day – a day when we honour the Indigenous children who were sent away to residential schools, as well as their families and communities, and learn more about the history of residential schools in Canada.
How many children died in residential schools?
Information exists in archives about the deaths of children, which has contributed to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s Memorial Register. As of May 24, 2022, the register has 4,130 confirmed names of children who died while at Indian Residential Schools.
Is Orange Shirt Day political?
The orange shirt is thus used as a symbol of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children that the residential school system enforced. The day was elevated to a statutory holiday by the Parliament of Canada in 2021, in light of the revelations of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential school sites.
What are the 5 key principles for Every Child Matters?
A helpful acronym to remember the 5 parts is SHEEP – Every child shall be: Safe, Healthy, Enjoy/Achieve, Economic, Positive contribution. Each of these aims is subject to a detailed framework whereby multi-agency partnerships work together to achieve the objectives of the initiative.
What are the 5 outcomes in Every Child Matters?
It also includes 25 specific aims for children and young people and explicitly relates OFSTED inspection criteria to the 5 outcomes. The 5 outcomes are: Being Healthy so that they are physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually healthy, have healthy lifestyles and choose not to take illegal drugs.
What replaced Every Child Matters?
The Every Child Matters policy was thought up and implemented by New Labour. It was launched in 2003, but there was a significant movement away from it in 2010 under David Cameron and the Coalition Government. Instead, the government returned to child health checks via health visitors and social workers.
What do you say on Reconciliation Day?
On Reconciliation Day, I want to tell you that you are very special to me and I cannot live without reconciling with you. Let us forgive and forget and move ahead. 5. Reconciliation Day gives all of us an opportunity to patch up with the ones who are dear to us.