Help and support for survivors and their families can be found through the Hope for Wellness Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or hopeforwellness.ca. A crisis line is also available through Indian Residential School Survivors and Family at 1-866-925-4419.
This year marks the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in the shíshálh swiya. On Monday, Sept. 30, members of the public are invited to attend and take part in the planned events.
xwash Steven Feschuk, protector of culture for shíshálh Nation, said an open commemoration will be from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Residential School Monument behind the shíshálh administration buildings and Raven's Cry Theatre. There will be a moment of silence for all the residential school survivors and for the children who did not survive the school itself.
The commemoration will also feature shíshálh drummers and singers as well as key cultural persons from the community who will share words and xwash said they anticipate youth dancers will also perform.
Next will be the ceremony where the Residential School Monument is blanketed. xwash said there will be recognized seating spaces for the spirits of the children to come and witness the ceremony.
Following the ceremony will be the annual Walk for Reconciliation, which xwash said will follow a very similar route as previous years, beginning at the Residential School Monument site.
He shared that shíshálh Nation plans to release a video to their members and the greater Sunshine Coast community that explains Orange Shirt Day and the meaning behind the walk for Reconciliation.
“It kind of goes over our official message for Orange Shirt day, but explains the entirety of the walk for reconciliation and where the really important messages of the walk are,” he said.
Other ways to learn about Truth and Reconciliation on the Coast
- Sunshine Coast Museum and Archives will be closed on Sept. 30, however, they will be open on Saturday the 28th.The museum recently received educational booklets from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation which they will be handing out for free.
- Watch the video created in 2021 by shíshálh Nation about National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, which highlights the Orange Shirt Day events from that year, as well as history of the shíshálh Nation.
Where to get this year’s new Orange Shirts
The newly designed shirts were created by artist Manuela Salinas, who also designed the image on the back of the 2023 Orange Shirts, which depicts the hands of children from the residential school turning into wings as they began their journey out of the impacts of residential school.
xwash said Salinas built off her previous design, “Her new design this year is that the children now have their wings, and they are flying towards the Every Child Matters sun, and that sun is getting them out of the darkness and the impacts of residential schools.”
Shirts will be available at the ceremony on Sept. 30 for $25. xwash explained proceeds from orange shirt sales are used for cultural events for residential school survivors and Elders.
More ways to learn
- Start reading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s six-volume final report, which the commission released at the conclusion of its mandate in 2015. The volumes include The Survivors Speak, which compiles testimonies from residential school survivors.
- Archival photos and history about Sechelt Residential School, which operated on the Sunshine Coast from 1904 to 1975, are available through the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre.
- The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) has created a resource guide, CCDI’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation / Orange Shirt Day educational guide.
- The Legacy of Hope Foundation is a national, Indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for more than 19 years and that has a wealth of resources.
- The Native Land Digital project has resources to learn about why we acknowledge the unceded lands we use and to learn whose territories we stand on.
- Rosanna Deerchild hosts the This Place podcast, a 10-part journey through 150 years of Indigenous resistance and resilience.
- A CBC article highlighting David A. Robertson outlines 48 books by Indigenous writers to read to understand residential schools.
- IndigiNews is Indigenous-led journalism that creates trauma-informed, culturally relevant and respectful news.
- The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation offers a free virtual educational program from Sept. 23 to 27, 2024, to all schools across Canada. This is a transformative journey for students, educators, and the broader community to engage with the history and enduring spirit of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.
Orange Shirt Day began as a grassroots campaign founded by Phyllis Webstad and grew out of her own experiences and the experiences of other residential school survivors who attended St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, B.C., the provincial government website explains. It is a day to honour the healing journeys of residential school survivors and their families and a time to engage in meaningful discussions about the history and legacy of the residential school system.
While this year marks the 11th anniversary of Orange Shirt Day, in June 2021, the Canadian government passed Bill C-5 to make Sept. 30 a federal statutory day. It is observed as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission put forth the 94 Calls to Action as a path to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a direct response to Call to Action 80, which called for a federal statutory day of commemoration.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
