Scholastic Book Clubs • September 30, 2024 TopicsBook Clubs Book Fairs Indigenous Stories Indigenous Voices National Day for Truth and Reconciliation parents September teachers

Every Child Matters

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September 30th marks Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Each year, we wear orange to honour the survivors of residential schools, as well as raise awareness to the history, creation and ongoing legacy of the residential school system, and how it has shaped our country. 

Between the 1830s and 1990s, approximately 150,000 Metis, Inuit and First Nations children were sent to church-run schools, known as residential schools. These Indigenous children were taken from their families, and forced to assimilate into Canadian society by detaching them from their language, culture and traditions.

Phyllis Webstad writes about her experience and the origins of Orange Shirt Day in The Orange Shirt Story: “When we wear our orange shirts on Orange Shirt Day, we reaffirm that every child matters – the children from every nation around the world, the residential school survivors, and the First Nations children who didn’t come home.”

For more resources and discussion guides, visit Sharing the Message of Truth and Reconciliation.