Perth Orange Shirt Day Ceremony

Join us for a time of education and reflection as we remember the experiences of the Indigenous children who attended Residential Schools.

The ceremony will be directed by local Indigenous Elders and include Pipe Ceremony and drumming.

Media Release: Orange Shirt Day

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day and it originated from the amazing courage shown by an Indigenous Woman named Phyllis Jack Webstad who, in the spring of 2013, dared to tell her experiences of being at Residential School. Phyllis has said, “When you wear an Orange Shirt, it’s like a bit of justice for us survivors in our lifetime and recognition of a system that we can never allow again.”

It is hard for us even to imagine a school system designed to hurt and harm children. The residential school program designed by the Colonial and Canadian Governments forcibly took children from their homes, denied contact with their parents, punished them for speaking their own language, shamed them for their culture and beliefs and treated them shamefully. The main objective was to assimilate Indigenous people into the colonial system at any cost. Yet, this is exactly what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission confirmed was the truth.

Beginning in the fall of 1831 Indigenous families could expect a knock on the door. The local officials had arrived and the truck was ready to leave. The children must go.

We cannot imagine that happening to us or our children.

In her new book, North of Nowhere, Marie Wilson said this about the testimony of survivors, “Their stories are difficult to hear. Do not flinch. Do not hide. I cannot make it softer for you. This is what I witnessed. This history belongs to all of us.”

Uncovering these truths has rekindled a national reckoning of this traumatic history. The discovery of mass graves of Indigenous Children has vindicated what survivors and their communities have long known. Their combined voices have now been heard and finally acknowledged. Calls for accountability continue to rise across the country from people who are listening and learning about this Canadian Tragedy and our collective part in it. It is a shadow that covers the ground where the Indigenous Children lay buried in places sometimes unknown. But never forgotten by their families and communities.

This year on Monday, September 30^th at 5:30 pm, we invite you to come to the Orange Shirt Day Ceremony to remember and acknowledge the multigenerational trauma caused by the residential school system in Canada. To respect and honour the Survivors and those who did not return home. Please commit to ongoing learning about the Calls to Action, listen to personal stories, find the truth, and be aware. That is the call to action for each of us.

Stand up – Speak Up Every Child Matters

Join us at the Indigenous Healing Circle – Perth Healing Forest Memorial Site – 35 Craig Street Perth, Ontario. We ask that you remember this Day by wearing something Orange.

Supported by the Lanark County Neighbours for Truth and Reconciliation.

Support and Services for those impacted by residential schools are available to you. Please contact the 24–Hour Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419 if you need emotional support.