Wear an orange shirt on September 30 to show your support. Every child matters.
Overview
Join us for a virtual event on Orange Shirt Day, a national movement in recognition of the experiences of survivors of residential schools in Canada. In the spirit of reconciliation and healing, Canadians are asked to wear an orange shirt on this day to acknowledge that every child matters.
Whether you are working or going to school online or in-person, wear your orange shirt on September 30 to show your solidarity with Indigenous people!
Schedule
Hart House Farm Orange Shirt Day Video
Welcome Remarks
- Kelly Crawford, Assistant Director, Indigenous Initiatives, UTSC
- Josh Eshkawkogan, Elder
Land Acknowledgement
Atharv Agrawal, Member, Hart House Student Debates and Dialogue Committee
History of Orange Shirt Day Video with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair
Introduction of Dr. Sinclair
- James Bird
Keynote Address
- Dr. Niigaan Sinclair, Professor in Native Studies, University of Manitoba
Questions from the Audience Moderated by:
- Shannon Simpson, Director, Indigenous Student Services, Office of the Vice President & Vice Provost; Office of the Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity
- Kelly Crawford, Assistant Director, Indigenous Initiatives, UTSC
- Tee Duke, Assistant Director, Indigenous Initiatives, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office, UTM
Closing Remarks
- Kelly Crawford, Assistant Director, Indigenous Initiatives, UTSC
Guests
-
Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair
Anishinaabe (St. Peter's/Little Peguis), Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba
Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter's/Little Peguis) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is a regular commentator on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC, and APTN, and his written work can be found in the pages of The Exile Edition of Native Canadian Fiction and Drama, newspapers like The Guardian, and online with CBC Books: Canada Writes. Niigaan is the co-editor of the award-winning Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (Highwater Press, 2011) and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories (Michigan State University Press, 2013), and is the Editorial Director of The Debwe Series with Portage and Main Press.
Niigan obtained his BA in Education at the University of Winnipeg, before completing an MA in Native- and African-American literatures at the University of Oklahoma, and a PhD in First Nations and American Literatures from the University of British Columbia.
The Story of Phyllis Webstad
Orange Shirt Day is based on the story of Phyllis Webstad, who in 1973, entered the St. Joseph Mission Residential School at the age of six. She was stripped of the orange shirt she was wearing and forced to wear the institutional uniform.
September 30 was chosen to mark the date when trucks and buses would arrive in communities to take children to residential schools. These schools operated in Canada between 1831 and 1996.
Read the article: Strong, successful, determined: In solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, U of T to mark Orange Shirt Day—U of T News
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