Results: #OrangeShirtDay - Annual Event Inspired By Girl Who Couldn't Wear Hers

When Phyllis Webstad was six-years old, she wore an orange shirt to her first day of school, and it was stripped off her back, and she never saw it again. It was the early '70s and Webstad was the third generation of her family to attend St. Joseph's Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C. Most people knew it as The Mission. The Mission was one of several government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Aboriginal children into Euro-Canadian culture. The shirt was a symbol of her heritage, and the school's mission was to integrate and convert these children into "Canadian culture". These residential schools tore these children away their families, their culture and their communities, creating long-term problems with the Aboriginal people. On Sept. 30, 2013, Webstad organized the first Orange Shirt Day in Williams Lake to acknowledge the harm that Canada's residential school system has left in generations of indigenous families and their communities. And every year on Sept. 30, Canadians are asked to wear orange as a sign of support. Have you ever participated in a Orange Shirt Day?

From the 1880s until the last school shut down in 1996, Canada's residential school system forced about 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children to attend church-run facilities that aimed to "take the Indian out of the child." The students faced widespread neglect and abuse in the schools, which was examined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that released a report with 94 recommendations earlier this year. It took Webstad 40 years to get over what happened to her and to use her experience to fight racism and bullying under the motto "every child matters" — and by using orange. Do you think this is a noble cause?

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. Orange Shirt day has become recognized and celebrated Canada wide. It also hopes to promote the understanding and appreciation of the First Nations culture for all Canadians. Do you agree this is an important step?