RESOURCES / SUPPLIES

RESOURCES & IDEAS: information to assist with
understanding & planning Orange Shirt Day

Background

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis’s account of losing her shiny new orange shirt on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because children are back in school and teachers have time to plan, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the year. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and community agencies to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.

Click here for more history on the origin of Orange Shirt Day...

Sample Agenda for Community Ceremony

Opening prayer and drumming
Welcome to traditional territory by Chief
Welcome by Mayor, local government representative
Greetings from provincial government officials, School Board
Residential school survivor or family member speaking about residential school
Entertainment and/or children’s activity.

That’s it, that’s all you have to do! Keep it simple and it will be effective. You may very well have other ideas that you would like to try. Try them. You may also want to use the day as a kick off to other activities during the year. Go ahead – do that! The only thing we ask is that Phyllis’ story is part of your day. Watch the Shaw video on Youtube. It is worth the three minutes.

Videos

Note: there are more good quality videos on YouTube that delve into the history of residential schools in Canada and in the United States - related videos will show up when you view the clips we have linked above.

Ideas for School Activities

Watch the Shaw video of Phyllis’s story.
Discussion around “Every Child Matters.”
Watch
Simple activities, eg. Children trace their hand, then write in the hand something they can do to help others feel like they matter.
Make Attachment Hearts to share.
Check out the resources listed here for more ideas!

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RESOURCES & IDEAS: information to assist withunderstanding & planning Orange Shirt Day

Background

Sample Agenda for Community Ceremony

Videos

Ideas for School Activities

Links for Printable Resources

RESOURCES & IDEAS: information to assist with
understanding & planning Orange Shirt Day