Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led, grassroots movement started by Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) woman and residential school survivor, in 2013. Its aim is to recognize the harm the residential school system did to Indigenous children and their families.

In 2021, the federal government declared Sept 30 the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The commemoration is intended to be an act of reconciliation to acknowledge the harm done to First Peoples.

The day is an important reminder of the need to recognize the strength and resistance of those who lived through and survived the violence of the residential school and colonial systems — and to reflect on our continuing impact on the lives of Indigenous peoples. For more information on Orange Shirt Day and to learn how you might become involved, go here.

For more information about fighting racism, see Vol. 15, No. 3 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.