Orange Shirt Day: 2023

Orange Shirt Day Event: 
Every Child Matters
Thursday, September 28
1:30 - 3:00 pm

You are invited to witness and participate in this significant ceremony remembering the residential school experience.  

Na’tsa’maht: The Gathering Place, Lansdowne campus

1:00 pm Gather at Na'tsa'maht

1:30 pm Dr. Barney Williams is the event MC and presenter. He is a survivor and was an Elder on the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Coffee, tea, and snacks to follow. 

About this guide

Indigenous communities and residential school survivors have, for many years, provided testimonies and spoken truths about Canada's Indian residential school system. In 2012 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada published the interim report, They Came for the Children: Canada, Aboriginal Peoples, and Residential Schools. In 2015, as volume 4 of the final report, Canada's Residential Schools: Missing Children and Unmarked Burials, was published.

Canadians have known about the atrocities of Canada's residential school system for a long time. It is time to listen, learn, and take action. In honour of both the children who did not survive, as well those who did, take some time today for learning as an act of reconciliation.

For additional resources related to residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, visit the IST: Indigenous Studies: Residential Schools and IST Indigenous Studies: Sixties Scoop guides.

Caution: Many of the resources in this guide contain discussions or scenes of violence or representations of trauma which may be painful for readers/viewers – please exercise care.

If you need help: The KUU-US Crisis Line Society provides 24-hour phone support for Indigenous people in BC. The KUU-US Crisis Line can be reached toll-free at 1-800-588-8717. Individuals can also call the Youth Line at 250-723-2040 or the Adult Line at 250-723-4050.

The Indian Residential School Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419 is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of their or a loved one's residential school experience.

Camosun students can access help from the Counselling Centre. For resources related to emergency and after hours support, on-campus support, and other information, visit the Counselling Centre Resources webpage.

Resources for young people

Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Webstad answers kids’ questions.
CBC Kids News, September 25, 2023.

*Authentic Indigenous Voices

AIV icon

The Authentic Indigenous Voices (AIV) icon has been developed as a visual signifier for people seeking Indigenous authored/ created content from the Camosun Library. The icon is a starting point for readers to identify the creators of resources featured in Camosun LibGuides and may assist with the indigenization of course curricula, research, and other scholarly activities.

Look for the icon or words, "*Authentic Indigenous Voices", next to library resources.

To find out more, visit the Authentic Indigenous Voices page on the Indigenizing Citations at Camosun guide. 

Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day (September 30) is an annual event where Indigenous and non-Indigenous people come together to honour residential school survivors, those students who did not survive, their families and communities, and to reflect on the far-reaching impacts of Canada's Indian residential school system. Beginning in 2021, September 30 has also been recognized in Canada as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The residential school system era began in the early 1870’s, continuing through to 1996, when the last school closed. More than 150,000 Indigenous, Métis and Inuit children attended residential school. Orange Shirt Day takes place in early autumn to acknowledge the time of year children when were removed from their families and forced to attend residential schools.

Orange Shirt Day began in 2013, in Williams Lake, BC. Phyllis Webstad (Northern Secwpemc, Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation), a survivor of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in William's Lake, told the story of her experience including the orange shirt that was stripped from her on her first day at the school at age six.

Phyllis's story has inspired people to take part in anti-bullying and anti-racism initiatives across Canada, and to learn about and acknowledge the reality of Canada's colonial history. Visit the orangeshirtday.org website to learn about Phyllis's story in her own words.

Survivor stories

Further reading

Streaming Media

Online resources

Art & reconciliation