Back to SearchThe Mayor of Prince Albert, Greg Dionne, has declared September 30th Orange Shirt Day in Prince Albert and encourages everyone to wear an orange shirt in honour of the children who survived the Indian Residential Schools in Canada and remember those that didn’t.
The motto of Orange shirt day is: Every Child Matters. Orange shirts are a reminder of the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, their families and communities and as an affirmation of a commitment to ensure that everyone matters.
“This day reminds us that Residential Schools are not something that we can forget,” said Judy MacLeod-Campbell, Arts and Cultural Coordinator, for the City of Prince Albert. “They are a part of our history and so many of us have more to learn about the legacy they left.”
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 (Jack) Webstad’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 local municipal and Indigenous governments, schools and community agencies to come together in the spirit of truth and reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. To learn more, visit https://www.orangeshirtday.org/.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Judy MacLeod Campbell
Arts & Cultural Coordinator
P:(306) 953-4811
E: jmacleodcampbell@citypa.com
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