September 30th is Orange Shirt Day, which is the legacy of a project that was originally organized around the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who was a former Residential school student. The purpose of it was to commemorate the residential school experience, and to stand in solidarity with the survivors of that system as we all strive for a better future in which reconciliation is in actual practice, rather than just being given lip service by the government. Orange Shirt Day is so named because of the story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad about being six years old and having her shiny orange shirt that her grandmother had bought for her get taken away, never to be returned.
The slogan of Orange Shirt Day is ‘Every Child Matters’, whether they are currently a child or have grown into adulthood. If you would like to know more, please visit the Orange Shirt Day website at http://www.orangeshirtday.org/”