Cindy Biancaniello, Director of the Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre at Brock, wears an orange shirt to honour the experiences of the Indigenous children forced to attend residential schools across Canada.Recognized nationally every Sept. 30, Orange Shirt Day raises awareness of the history of the residential school system and its intergenerational impact on survivors and their families.
As a show of commitment to the ongoing process of reconciliation, the Brock and broader Niagara communities are invited to participate in an aerial photo in front of the Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock statue that day, which also marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Participants are encouraged to wear an orange shirt and join together in a heart formation at 12:10 p.m.
Orange Shirt Day originated with Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a residential school survivor who was stripped of an orange shirt gifted to her by her grandmother on her first day at the St. Joseph Mission residential school in Williams Lake, B.C. She was left feeling worthless, which inspired the messaging that Every Child Matters.
Orange shirts can be purchased from a variety of Indigenous creators, including Montana Adams, an Ojibwe/Chippewa artist from Aamjiwnaang First Nation whose designs are available at the Campus Store. The shirts support the Survivors’ Secretariat, which assists survivors who attended the Mohawk Institute, the longest running residential school in Canada.
In the case of inclement weather, the photo will be taken in the Goodman School of Business atrium.
More information about the event and ongoing National Day for Truth and Reconciliation programming is available on ExperienceBU.
