Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Ha7lh skwayel MQE Community,

Today, Sept 29th we have come to school dressed in orange, to recognize and honour our Residential School Survivors, and act in a manner that promotes remembrance of this dark history of our past. Across Canada we will continue the work towards building reconciliation. Residential schools are a part of our Canadian history that requires a humanistic understanding that runs deeper than seeing it as a fact on a time line, or a bump in our past. It requires us to develop a level of understanding that will enable us to see this act for what it was, so that we can start to move forward with understanding equality and social justice. It is about honouring the voices and stories of the past.
“Reconciliation will be about ensuring everything we do today will be aimed at a high standard to restore the balance of the relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples”.
Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in 2013. It grew out of one survivor’s account of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away 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 it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools. It is also an opportunity to set the stage for the coming school year as we look to implement new curriculum material about residential schools and reconciliation. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.
Truth and Reconciliation
I have added the link to some information and resources put together by our district team. Please visit the link and talk with your children about what they experienced today during our assembly today to recognize tomorrow’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We have also asked each class today to think about an “action” for reconciliation. What work are we going to commit to doing to bring about positive change?
Tomorrow is about honouring and remembering the stories of the past, and recognizing nationally the work we must commit to doing. Every child matters, and every voice needs to be heard.
Please join us today and tomorrow in wearing orange to show your dedication to truth and reconciliation as we work together to towards a better Canada.

Jeff Maynard / Ts̓qáxa7 Sp̓áq̓em
Principal / Mamquam Elementary School
President / stspvpa
School District No. 48 (Sea to Sky) | www.sd48seatosky.org
[email protected] | Cell: (604) 698-8003
We are honoured to be learning on the Traditional Territory of the Sḵwxwú7meshÚxwumixw and St’át’yemc Nations.

* Ts̓qáxa7 Sp̓áq̓em is a Lil’wat name given to me by Tanina Williams. It is a new Ucwalmícwts word that translates into horse flower (dandelion). While these plants are not native to these lands, they are strong, can grow anywhere and have become a resource for the Lil’wat people.

Truth and Reconciliation