This year, Xwi7xwa Library is hosting our own StoryWalk® for Orange Shirt Day on Saturday, September 30th. We are featuring Phyllis Webstad’s picture book With Our Orange Hearts.
Where: Visit Xwi7xwa’s StoryWalk® in the arboretum (the grassy knoll between the library and the First Nations Longhouse).
When: September 30th, 2023, 10:30-3pm
Who: All are welcome. With Our Orange Hearts is a book written for children.
What is a StoryWalk®?
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with
the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson. Learn more about the project on their official website.
A StoryWalk® combines storytelling with nature, allowing folks to experience a story outdoors. Each page of the book is displayed along an outdoor path.
About With Our Orange Hearts
” ‘Every child matters, including you and me. With our orange hearts, we walk in harmony.’As a young child, your little world can be full of big feelings. In this book, I, Phyllis Webstad, founder of Orange Shirt Day, show how sharing my story with the world helped me process my feelings. My true story encourages young children to open their hearts when others share their feelings, and be more comfortable sharing their own feelings, too. Listening is a first step towards reconciliation. It’s never too early to start.
This picture book, illustrated by Emily Kewageshig, presents Phyllis Webstad’s orange shirt story for a younger audience. Borrow With Our Orange Hearts from Xwi7xwa Library. See all of Phyllis Webstad’s books at UBC Library here. Find With Our Orange Hearts at Vancouver Public Library.
About Phyllis Webstad and Orange Shirt Day
“Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). She comes from mixed Secwepemc and Irish/French heritage, was born in Dog Creek, and lives in Williams Lake, BC. Today, Phyllis is married, has one son, a stepson and five grandchildren. She is the Founder and Ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society, and tours the country telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system.” (Orange Shirt Society)
Orange Shirt Day commemorates the residential school experiences, honours the healing of survivors and their families, and looks towards the ongoing process of reconciliation.
Read Phyllis’s story in her own words on the Orange Shirt Day website.
Orange Shirt Day at UBC
Join the Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day on September 30th from 11am-3pm, starting at the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre outdoor amphitheatre. See more details here.
See all events taking place at UBC Vancouver in the days leading up to Orange Shirt Day here, on the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre website.