Students across the Kootenay Lake school district took part in Orange Shirt Day on Friday.
It’s a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake in the spring of 2013. It grew out of the personal story of Phyllis Webstad 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.
According to a news release from the school district, by celebrating Orange Shirt Day, students are”coming together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Students are encouraged to wear orange, put positive thoughts of reconciliation on cut outs of orange shirts, attend assemblies featuring elders, story-telling, and participate in drumming and song, and to highlight related projects such as Project Heart.”