Orange Shirt Day/National Truth and Reconciliation Day 2025
- indigenoustutoring
- Sep 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 1
Content Warning: Mention of the Residential School System
On Tuesday September 30th, we commemorate the Orange Shirt Day movement and National Truth and Reconciliation Day. On this day, we honour and raise awareness about the story of Phyllis Webstad, the Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools, and the intergenerational trauma inflicted by these schools.
While we could explain the history behind Orange Shirt Day and why we wear orange, we did not want to misrepresent this history, and thought that it would be better to hear about it from Phyllis herself:
“I went to the Mission for one school year in 1973/1974. I had just turned 6 years old. I lived with my grandmother on the Dog Creek reserve. We never had very much money, but somehow my granny managed to buy me a new outfit to go to the Mission school. I remember going to Robinson’s store and picking out a shiny orange shirt. It had string laced up in front, and was so bright and exciting – just like I felt to be going to school! When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt! I never wore it again. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine! The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
To learn more about Phyllis’s story and Orange Shirt Day, please visit https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/.
As Orange Shirt Day/National Truth and Reconciliation day is a statutory holiday, we hope that our Indigenous readers will be able to rest, relax, and spend time with their friends and family. To commemorate Orange Shirt Day, we encourage our settler and non-Indigenous readers to wear an orange shirt in support of the Indigenous community. Alongside wearing an orange shirt, we encourage you to take this day to participate in local events and educate yourselves about Canada’s history of residential schools.
Before we end this blog post, we wanted to call attention to some of the events happening throughout Canada on September 30th. These events are for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike, and we encourage any and all to attend.
These topics can be difficult and invoke strong emotions. If you need support or find yourself in crisis, the following services are available:
Indian Residential School Survivors Society Toll-Free: 1 (800) 721-0066, 24-hour: 1-866-925-4419
KUU-US Crisis Line 1 (800) 588-8717
Indigenous Wellness Program (604) 675-2551 or 1 (866) 884-0888
First Nations & Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line 1 (855) 242-3310
Author: Riley Sommerville
Image credits: 2025 Every Child Matters Orange Shirt Day Design via Orange Shirt Society
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