Indigenous and non-indigenous communities are coming together today to recognize Orange Shirt Day. This is a day to learn, reflect, and remember the legacy of the residential school system in Canada. Indigenous children in many cases were forcibly placed in the government-run schools from the late 1880s to the 1990s. The last school did not close until 1996. The impact of those schools continues to be felt, as generations of people continue to try to heal.
A six-year-old girl named Phillis Webstad had her orange shirt taken from her when she entered her first day at a residential school in Williams Lake, BC.
That’s how we get the name “Orange Shirt Day.”
Here at Loyalist College, the community is coming together to remember survivors and honor families.
To coincide with Orange Shirt Day, Loyalist College has officially unveiled the new A’nó:wara Learning Circle.
“Supporting our Indigenous community members by having a designated space for traditional practices and cross-cultural understanding is an important step in the process of Truth and Reconciliation,” said Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan, Loyalist College President and CEO.
A’nó:wara means turtle in the Mohawk language. The outdoor learning circling is located behind the Kente building at the Belleville campus.
“The A’nó:wara Learning Circle incorporates several symbols of Indigenous culture into its design. The circular layout was chosen in accordance with the role of the circle as the foundation of all Indigenous ceremonies. Within the circle is a stone turtle design: the outer ring of the turtle shell is made up of 28 stones, representing the 28 days of the lunar month, while the 12 larger stones in the interior of the turtle’s shell, plus the central firepit feature, represent the 13 Grandmother Moons. A medicine wheel signifying the four races of people surrounds the fire pit,” the College said in a statement today.
How are you recognizing Orange Shirt Day?
Comments