This year, EIPS will commemorate Orange Shirt Day on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.

Orange Shirt Day is a day of remembrance and an act of reconciliation.

It is an opportunity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit; local governments; schools; and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Orange Shirt Day officially takes place on September 30 each year. The date was chosen for two reasons: First, it's the time of year children were typically taken from their homes to residential schools, and two, because it helps set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies. 

Orange Shirt Day is an annual Canada-wide event to commemorate the history and legacy of residential schools. It grew out of a gathering of survivors held in Williams Lake, British Columbia in 2013, where Phyllis Webstad, who attended St. Joseph Mission residential school, shared her experience of having her new orange shirt taken on her first day.

Additional Resources

Orange Shirt Day 

Society for Safe and Caring Schools 

Namwayut: We are all one (video)

St. Joseph's Residential School Stories (video)