Message from Phyllis Webstad CEO and Founding Member, Orange Shirt Society, honouring grads in the next several years, as they emerge as the “first” students with 13 years of education and experience with Truth & Reconciliation in the schools. January 2025 Letter
The Orange Shirt Society was formed in Williams Lake by the founders of Orange Shirt Day to encourage and support communities to recognize Orange Shirt Day and to support reconciliation events and activities. Our goal is to create awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of Indian Residential Schools through Orange Shirt Day activities, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, to be held annually on September 30, is to honour survivors, their families and communities, and ensure a public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools.
This day coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which carries a very important message: that every child matters.
Alberta’s government is committed to working with Indigenous people on truth and reconciliation. We must stand with First Nations, Métis and Inuit teachers, students and communities to honour those who survived and those who did not return home.
We must never forget that residential schools did not allow students to speak their languages or practice their cultures; that some students were emotionally, physically and sexually abused; and that these atrocities affect Indigenous people, families and communities to this day.
Acts of reconciliation advance the recognition of the painful legacy of residential schools. These acts can help Albertans’ understanding of reconciliation-related initiatives that offer a better future for Indigenous peoples.
This commemorative flag was created by survivors to share their expression of remembrance with the broader public, and to honour all residential school survivors, families, and communities impacted by the residential school system in Canada. More ...
