Wednesday is Orange Shirt Day in Saskatchewan.
The movement is to bring awareness to the harmful legacy residential schools have in Canada.
Saskatchewan School Boards Association President Shawn Davidson says the day is significant because of a student at a residential school who wore her orange shirt the day she arrived at the school.
“She wore an orange shirt which was culturally significant for her, and it was taken away from her and she was forced to change,” Davidson said. “That’s why we encourage everyone around the province to wear an orange shirt on September 30th this year, and that’s where the orange comes from.”
Davidson says workplaces are also encouraged to take part in the awareness day.
“This extends well beyond our school community,” Davidson said. “We would encourage everyone around the province to take part in Orange Shirt Day and really reflect on the inter-generational trauma that has occurred as a result of that residential school legacy.”
Saskatchewan adopted Orange Shirt Day in 2016 after it began in BC just three years earlier. It has since become a national movement.
