Orange Shirt Day 2025

Inuujaq School observed The National Day of Truth & Reconciliation, aka Orange Shirt Day, on September 29.  (The actual day is September 30, but it’s a statutory holiday in Nunavut, so no school).  Orange Shirt Day “honours the survivors of residential schools, their families, and their communities, while remembering the children who never returned home.” 

Residential schools & hostels operated in Canada for 165 years, 1831 – 1996, separating thousands of First Nations, Métis, & Inuit children from their families, communities, languages, and cultures.  The primary goal was forced assimilation into Canadian English & French societies through cultural genocide.  The schools & hostels were run by various Christian churches, overseen by the federal government.  Children were subjected to horrific conditions & treatment, and many did not return home.  Survivors returned broken, confused, angry, abandoned, and disconnected from their families, resulting in intergenerational trauma. 

In the week leading up to September 29, orange shirts were distributed to students & staff, teachers did lessons & activities with their students, and the school’s Events Committee organized an assembly on September 29.  Parents, guardians, Elders, & community members were invited.

The assembly began with a welcome address by the principal.  Everyone wore orange.  This was followed by a Minute of Silence for the survivors, their families, and the children who never returned.  Two Inuit teachers did a performance.  One sang while the other played the Inuit drum.  I then played two short informative videos about residential schools & the story behind Orange Shirt Day.  The assembly ended with classes having their photos taken.

Bannock was distributed to everyone in attendance.  Students & teachers returned to class for the remainder of the day.            

Every Child Matters.

To any residential school deniers reading this post: You’re no different than Holocaust deniers.