UBC Okanagan, in collaboration with the Okanagan Nation Alliance, is installing orange banners across the campus in recognition of Orange Shirt Day and in preparation for the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Okanagan campus is located on the traditional territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.
“September 30 has for several years now been marked as Orange Shirt Day, a day when people are encouraged to wear orange to recognize the impacts of the residential school system,” says UBCO Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal Lesley Cormack. “This year, Orange Shirt Day carries added significance.”
Orange Shirt Day was spearheaded by Residential School Survivor Phyllis Webstad, who has shared her story widely to bring awareness to the impacts of these schools. And in 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada called for a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
In the wake of the uncovering of the remains of 215 children at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School this spring, and the subsequent investigations and findings of more children’s graves at residential schools across Canada, the federal government established September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.,