This year has been unlike any other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop North Okanaganers from grabbing their orange shirts this morning in recognition of the harms caused by the residential school system.
The annual Orange Shirt Day, held Sept. 30, reaffirms Canadian’s commitment to reconciliation while remembering and discussing the reality and ramifications of residential schooling.
Phyllis Webstad picked out an orange shirt to wear on her first day of school in the ’70s. Upon her arrival to the residential school in British Columbia, that new shirt was taken from her and never returned. In 2013, Webstad initiated the first Orange Shirt Day to show “Every Child Matters.”
#OrangeShirtDay at Ellison Elementary. #EveryChildMatters pic.twitter.com/c2DviTpBew
— Ellison Elementary (@EllisonElem) September 30, 2020
Schools across the Greater Vernon Area marked the occasion, with COVID-19 safety protocols in place, and shared photographs on social media.
Coldstream Elementary recognizes Orange Shirt Day today. pic.twitter.com/5cKYuW4aXO
— ColdstreamElementary (@coldstreamel) September 30, 2020
Orange shirt day being recognized at Kal pic.twitter.com/FAGGPdNwgr
— Kalamalka Secondary (@KalamalkaSecond) September 30, 2020
#Every Child Matters pic.twitter.com/qB9q2LXvdE
— Kidston Elementary (@KidstonElementa) September 30, 2020
Orange Shirt Day is September 30 https://t.co/7p2aDumh6h
— Pleasant Valley Sec (@PVSS1) September 29, 2020
Even the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP school resource officer was donning his orange tee.
Our school resource officer was out today supporting the message that #EveryChildMatters @SD22Vernon @Hillview_School pic.twitter.com/yJxLbsWQ9v
— Vernon North Okanagan RCMP (@VernonNOkRCMP) September 30, 2020
Send in your Orange Shirt Day photos to newsroom@vernonmorningstar.com.
READ MORE: Orange Shirt Day in Vernon trashed by hate flyers
READ MORE: Orange Shirt Day lessons of past in today’s classrooms
@caitleerach
Caitlin.clow@vernonmorningstar.com
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