This week, students at multiple Richmond schools will participate in events for Orange Shirt Day to educate students and communities of residential schools in Canada.
The annual day of recognition, marked on Sept. 30, began in May 2013 and was created during the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project in Williams Lake, B.C. As part of the project, a former student, told the story of her first day at residential school when her new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl.
Now, teachers are encouraged to use the day to explore the topic of residential schools and use orange to bring attention to the issue.
While Orange Shirt Day falls on a Sunday, students at Hugh Boyd Secondary School have been preparing for all week. One social justice grade 11 and 12 class has particularly embraced the day and placed orange sticky notes on every 25th locker to acknowledge the statistic that one in 25 Indigenous students did not survive residential schools.
“The social justice class is very, very keen,” said Michael Taylor, who heads the social studies department at Hugh Boyd and teaches the social justice class. “They’ve taken leadership onus in coming up with certain ideas. A lot of this has been student-directed.”
On Friday, orange ribbons will be provided to the entire student body at Hugh Boyd and lessons specifically on residential schools will be offered by teachers on Thursday and Friday.
Additionally, at Manoah Steves Elementary on Thursday, students gathered to gain a better understanding of the history of residential schools. Lynn Wainwright, teacher consultant with the school district, shared a talk titled “My Truth, My Story,” with intermediate students.
For more Orange Shirt Day events taking place over the weekend, visit www.orangeshirtday.org.
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