Wellness Supports
If you feel you need support while engaging with Residential School histories and legacies please see the following resources below. It is important to practice self-care and respect your needs.
- KUU-US 24hr crisis line (BC Wide Indigenous Toll Free Crisis and Support Line): 1-800-588-8717
- Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre (IRSHDC) orange shirt day resource list and resources for survivors
- Indigenous Wellbeing at UBC
- Mental Health Care at UBC
Orange Shirt Day is Every Day
Orange Shirt Day is recognized annually on September 30th, but the reasons we reflect on its significance asks us to remember beyond more than one day. For many survivors and families, Orange Shirt Day is every day.
About Phyllis Webstad and Orange Shirt Day
Between the late 1800s and 1996, more than 150,000 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children attended Indian Residential Schools in Canada (IRSHDC). Orange Shirt Day is a day to remember and honour Indigenous children and families who experienced the trauma of Residential Schools and for meaningful discussion about the harmful legacy of the Residential School system. This day commemorates Residential School experiences and those who never returned home, honours the healing of survivors and their families, and looks towards the ongoing process of reconciliation. September 30th is federally recognized as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and you can learn more about it here.
Orange Shirt Day was inspired by Survivor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). Orange Shirt Day is based on Phyllis Webstad’s personal experience attending Residential School. For her first day at Residential School, Phyllis wore a bright orange shirt given to her by her grandmother. When she arrived at the school, teachers immediately took her orange shirt and Phyllis never saw the orange shirt again. Since then, the colour orange has always reminded Phyllis of her traumatic experience at Residential School and her orange shirt has become a symbol for honouring the legacies of children who attended Indian Residential Schools. You can read Phyllis’ story in her own words here.
Phyllis “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). You can learn more about the history of Orange Shirt Day here.
More About Residential Schools
You can learn more about the Indian Residential School system here and by further browsing the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre’s (IRSHDC) online collections and resources. UBC’s Indigenous Foundations website also has further information about the history of Residential Schools.
Xwi7xwa Library Resources
Join X̱wi7x̱wa Library in the conversation about Orange Shirt Day by visiting our research guide, browsing our collection, reading a book from one of our curated reading lists, or even playing a board game!
Indian Residential School System in Canada Research Guide
Explore X̱wi7x̱wa Library’s Indian Residential School System in Canada Research Guide for more resources. This guide includes a diversity of carefully selected resources focused on Residential Schools, including books, articles and databases, videos, maps, images, educational materials, truth and reconciliation resources and much more! Please email xwi7xwa.library@ubc.ca for additional research help or if you have questions about borrowing material from the library.
ER Call Numbers
If you’re able to come and visit X̱wi7x̱wa Library, you can browse for books in our section on Residential Schools. Books in this section have a call number beginning with the letters ER. This includes call numbers ER, ER2, ERA, ERB, ERC, ERCA, and ERU.
We also have a teaching kit aimed for youth ages 11-18, 100 Years of Loss: The Residential School System in Canada (call number OS ETE L44 A12 2011).
Children’s Books
Thank you to student librarian Ada Leung for creating this year’s K-12 reading lists! These reading lists are for learners & educators who are teaching:
Indigenous Authors of BC Reading List
We have partnered with UBC Department of English Language & Literature to create a list of 10 texts by Indigenous authors in BC. Find them at UBC Library or your local public library! Look at the reading list here.
Reconciliation Board Games
The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation: Educational Board Game
Call Number: PS C67 T78 2024
“A respectful, authentic, Indigenous-teacher-made resource to learn and teach about the truth in truth and reconciliation. As a participant, your goal is to circle Turtle Island to collect eagle feathers before being stripped of your land, language, culture and identity by the policies and actions of the church and the crown. Collect all four feathers and you are a survivor!”
In addition to the striking art on the box and the hundreds of cards inside, the board is a beautiful depiction of a turtle shell:
The Truth in Truth and Reconciliation: Educational Board Game. Volume 1, For Elementary and Middle School
Call Number: PS C67 T78 2025
“Thoughtfully adapted from the original game of the same name, this edition preserves the integrity of the original while ensuring young learners receive a thoughtful, age-appropriate experience.”
Past Events
For off campus and online events check out the City of Vancouver’s update here.