Staff and students in Rainbow Schools have been invited to wear orange to show support for residential school survivors.
Orange Shirt Day will be held this Thursday, September 27th to recognize the effects and intergenerational impacts of the residential school system on First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children in Canada.
It all began in Williams Lake, British Columbia by the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration project.
Phyllis Webstad, a young girl from the Dog Creek reserve, attended the Mission in 1973, where her clothes were removed, including her brand new orange shirt.
Phyllis’ story inspired the Mission to declare September 30th Orange Shirt Day, as this was the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to attend residential schools.