September 30th is Orange Shirt Day, and it has become a very important day because it signifies and honors the strength of Indigenous children who were sent away to residential schools. This day also represents an ongoing commitment to reconciliation and our role to eliminate racism, hate & discrimination.
September 30th is the day that Indigenous children were taken away to residential schools, and the “orange shirt” in Orange Shirt Day refers to the new shirt that Phyllis Webstad was given by her grandmother for her first day of school at St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in British Columbia. When Phyllis arrived at school, they took away her clothes, including her new orange shirt. It was never returned. The color orange has always reminded Phyllis of her experiences at residential school, “how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared”.
We thank the SJN community of staff and students for being united and affirming that Every Child Matters.
Thank you for your ongoing support.