Why we wear orange on National Truth and Reconciliation Day

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, B.C. in May 2013.

This project was the vision of Esk’etemc Chief Fred Robbins (Alkali Lake), and a former SJM student. The events of the SJM Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion were designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation.

Phyllis (Jack) Webstad is a former SJM student and a spokesperson for the SJM Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion group. Leading up to the events, she told her story of her first day at residential school. She had just turned six years old. On that first day, her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her. Read Phyllis’s story in her own words here.

Phyllis founded the Orange Shirt Society in 2013.

The confirmation of unmarked graves at residential schools across the nation (a truth that Indigenous Peoples have always known), affirms the necessity of learning, acknowledging, and reconciling the historic and ongoing harms from the residential school system.

In 2024, Indigenous Employee Experience and Indigenous Partnerships produced a video about Orange Shirt Day / National Day for Truth and Reconciliation be produced to educate Interior Health (IH) staff about residential schools, Orange Shirt Day and Truth and Reconciliation.

This year, the Indigenous Cultural Safety and Humility education team, and Indigenous Partnerships staff and colleagues, got together in Kelowna and Kamloops over two days in early September to discuss September 30.

Each staff member shared what the day means to them, why they wear orange and why it’s important for IH to not only acknowledge but participate in Indigenous-specific days of significance.

In Kamloops, IH talked to Lenora Starr, Indigenous Cultural Safety Practice lead, Victoria Jaenig, Indigenous communications consultant, and Janessa Collins, business partner, Indigenous Employee Experience.

In Kelowna, our media team met with Nicole Big Sorrel Horse, Indigenous Mental Wellness lead, Auroara Leigh, Indigenous Antiracism Education Facilitator, Charlotte Whitehead, Indigenous Mental Wellness lead; Jade Chaboyer-Kondra, Indigenous Engagement lead, and Christopher Macklin, Indigenous Antiracism Education Facilitator. This video also features local hand drummers from All My Relations, a First Nations performance group.

This is a partial list of events. Be sure to check listings for Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation events in your area.

Enderby
Walk and Gathering
Sept. 30 | 10 a.m.
Enderby Chamber of Commerce, 700 Railway Street to Splatsin Community Centre, 5787 Old Vernon Rd.

Kamloops
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Sept. 30 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Tk̓emlúps Arbour, 345 Powwow Trail

Kamloops
OSD / NDTR Unity Awareness Motorcycle Run
Sept. 30 | Kickstands up 9 a.m.  
Kamloops Indian Residential School building
330 Chief Alex Thomas Way

Penticton
Walk for the Children
Sept. 30 | 10 a.m.
Safeway Parking Lot (1301 Main Street) to Penticton Fish Hatchery, 16 Green Mountain Rd.

Vernon
Walking the Path Together: Truth & Reconciliation Gathering
Sept 30 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
North Okanagan Friendship Centre 2904 29 Ave.

IH’s department leadership teams work with Indigenous Partnerships to create positive change in B.C.’s health-care system. Explore some recent work and initiatives at IH.

Indigenous Employee Experience Strategy 2024-2029

Indigenous Health & Wellness Strategy

Watch the first two videos in our cultural safety video series:

Tŝilhqot’in: People of the River (15 mins)

Reconciliation in Action: Passing the Mic

Listen to our Indigenous-led podcast featuring curated conversations highlighting initiatives and projects, and challenges Indigenous peoples face navigating health-care systems.

Interior Voices

Understand how Indigenous culture is integrated in our facilities:

• Kelowna community dialysis unit opening in new location
• Smudging ceremony at the 100 Mile House District General Hospital
• Sacred space opens at Vernon Jubilee Hospital
• Sacred space at Cariboo Memorial Hospital receives a facelift

• In Plain Sight: addressing Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in B.C. health care report
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: 94 Calls to Action
• National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls “Reclaiming Power and Place” executive summary of the final report
• BC Gov | Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan 2022-2027
• IH In Plain Sight Response – Annual Update - November 2024
• IH Indigenous Cultural Safety & Humility Policy, Anti-Racism Policy, and Diversity Policy

Call 310-MHSU (6478) to reach your local Mental Health and Substance Use Centre for support in your community.

If you’re experiencing feelings of hopelessness or thoughts of self-harm, you can call one of these numbers. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays:

• National Indian Residential School Crisis Line - 1-866-925-4419
• KUU-US (Indigenous) Crisis Line - 1-800-588-8717
• Métis Crisis Line - 1-833-638-4722
• Interior Crisis Line Network - 1-888-353-2273
• Suicide Crisis Helpline - 988

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