Join us in celebrating Orange Shirt Day on Friday, September 29, 2017

Posted On Tuesday September 26, 2017

Orange shirt day was established in 2013 through the efforts of Phyllis Webstad, a First nations woman who had her new orange shirt taken from her on her first day of residential school in 1973. This year's event will be celebrated on Saturday, September 30, 2017.

For more than a 100 years the Federal Government of Canada backed a residential school system that sought to isolate First Nations children from their families and impose the dominant Canadian culture on them.  

The system was rife with cases of emotional, physical and sexual abuse giving rise to trauma that many victims and their families live with to this day.  

This Friday, September 29, 2017, Durham Catholic students are invited to wear orange coloured shirts or clothing to show their solidarity with victims of residential schools.    

Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.