Orange T-Shirt Day
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation \ Journée nationale de la vérité et réconciliation
Resources in English
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Thanks to the Canadian Commission of UNESCO for compiling this well-vetted list below for how to teach the history of Orange Shirt Day.
Orange Shirt Day is commemorated on September 30 in recognition of the damage the residential school system has done to Indigenous children's self-esteem and well-being (orangetshirtday.org). The findings this year of hundreds of unmarked Indian Residential School graves underscores the gravity of the lived experiences of thousands of Indigenous children between 1894 and 1996 in Canada. I would like to encourage your school to participate in Orange Shirt Day which marks a very important and dark moment in Canadian history.
How to teach the history of Orange Shirt Day:
- Get informed about Orange Shirt Day and its history through this CBC article;
- Participate in the Truth and Reconciliation Week organized by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation;
- Watch some selected videos linked to Orange Shirt Day from the NFB;
- Learn about residential schools through Canadian Geographic’s Pathways to Reconciliation Project. Download the teachers' guide to help you navigate this hard history;
- Seek to build relationships and better understand Indigenous Peoples in your region of Canada by learning a greeting in their Indigenous language;
- Celebrate the heritage, culture, history and achievements of indigenous peoples through literature;
- Review the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. You can also download a youth-friendly guide to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) 94 Calls to Action from the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society;
- Be inspired by what other teachers and classrooms are doing across the country through the website Project of Hearts;
- Participate in the Imagine a Canada Program
