National Day for Truth and Reconciliation @ SuOn

September 30, 2021, marks the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honors the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day that honors the children who survived residential schools and remembers those who did not. This day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, on her first day of school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her. It is now a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom, and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

On September 30, at SuOn Academy, we wear orange to raise awareness of the very tragic legacy of residential schools and to honor the thousands of Survivors.