Content warning: This article references Indian residential schools (IRS) and may affect those who attended a school or know someone impacted by it.
Each year, September 30 marks Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community intergenerational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters.” This date was chosen because it is the time of year in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes to residential schools.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home from and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. This federal statutory holiday was created through legislative amendments made by Parliament in 2021. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.
