In 2015, the Orange Shirt Society was formed to raise awareness of the individual, family, and community intergenerational impacts of Indian Residential Schools. Its purpose is to support Indian Residential School Reconciliation and to promote the truth that Every Child Matters.
Orange Shirt Day itself grew out of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School (1891–1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion held in Williams Lake, BC, in May 2013. During the event, former student Phyllis (Jack) Webstad shared her story. On her very first day of school at age six, her brand-new orange shirt—lovingly purchased by her grandmother—was taken from her. That loss became a lasting symbol of the many ways Indigenous children were stripped of their culture, identity, and dignity through the residential school system.
Since then, the orange shirt has become a powerful symbol of remembrance, education, and reconciliation. Wearing an orange shirt honours survivors, remembers those who never came home, and affirms our shared responsibility to build a future where Indigenous communities are valued and respected.
This year, OSSTF Brock University Support Staff made a contribution by ordering official orange shirts, helping to direct about $400 to the Orange Shirt Society. A simple purchase, but one that both supports the Society’s work and furthers the message of reconciliation.
As the Orange Shirt Society reminds us: In one simple action, by wearing an orange shirt, you are acknowledging the pains of residential schools while contributing to create a future where Indigenous communities are included and honoured.
Every Child Matters.
Brock University Support Staff 