Loyalist College marks Orange Shirt Day

By Laural Samson

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College is marking  Orange Shirt Day on Wednesday.

The day, which is marked each year on Sept. 30, encourages Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to come together in reconciliation and hope. It was started in 2013 to recognize the experience of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School, which was open from 1891 to 1981.

The idea was to bring together former students, their families, communities, municipal organizations and school boards to commemorate the effect of residential schools on those who lived though them.

The official website for Orange Shirt Day has said that the day is about remembering, while also moving forward.

“The events were designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation,” reads the website.

The orange shirt itself comes from a former survivor, Phyllis Webstad, who told her story about her new orange shirt, given to her by her grandmother, which was taken away from her on the first day at the residential school.

Sept. 30 is a significant day for this commemoration because it is around the time that Indigenous children would have been taken from their homes and put into the residential schools. It also sets the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies to be implemented, as the school year then begins with awareness and recognition of the past.

Loyalist College commemorates Orange Shirt Day every year, with this year being no different.

Posting across all social media channels, Loyalist College highlighted the importance of the day and what people can do to show their support.

One way is by taking a picture of yourself in an orange shirt, and submitting it to the Loyalist Marketing and Communications team by Tuesday at noon. The photos will then be put together to create a digital mural that will be shared across all Loyalist College channels on Sept. 30.

The college is also selling orange shirts, with the slogan ‘Every Child Matters’, for $10 that can be ordered through the link in their posts.

In a video sent out to the Loyalist College community, the manager of Indigenous services Paul Latchford talks about why Orange Shirt Day is especially important to the college.

“In the college, we took a special interest in it. We had students that had supported it so we developed a turtle design and put shirts out. And we started out with a handful of orders and I believe we are probably around 200 to 300 shirts every year. And we realize it may get bigger.”

Latchford also stated that the support they’ve received from the community is exactly what Orange Shirt Day is really about.

“The awareness has been wonderful. And that’s a great thing because education is what it’s all about. The residential school is based on education; it ostracized the children from their families, their culture, their practices, their languages, their way of knowing, of dress, and now it’s going to turn back the other way to reconnect them with the things that were displaced or taken away. So the Orange Shirt Day is a very significant day, especially here on campus.”