by Ainsley Carry
This post was originally an email sent to VPS Vancouver staff on Sept 21, 2020.
As you may know, I am a relatively new visitor to the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam (Vancouver campus) and Syilx (Okanagan campus) peoples. These lands are rich with significant and compelling histories, which I continually feel humbled and honoured to learn about.
September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, where we recognize and raise awareness about the residential school system in Canada. The orange shirts we wear originate with the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor. On her first day at the St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in British Columbia, Phyllis’ clothing – including an orange shirt, given to her by her grandmother – was taken from her.
In the spirit of reconciliation, I hope you will join me in honouring the experiences of Indigenous Peoples and the healing journeys of residential school survivors and their families. Whether you are working on campus or remotely, I encourage you to wear orange on September 30 – and thank you for your support.
Here are some other suggestions for how you can acknowledge this day:
- Participate in the “Orange Shirt Day Story” speaker program hosted by the First Nations House of Learning and the UBC Learning Circle (September 22)
- Learn about UBC’s recently launched Indigenous Strategic Plan
- Visit the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre’s website
- Watch this video about the origin of Orange Shirt Day
- Consider purchasing an Orange Shirt from the UBC Bookstore
- If you are on campus, take a contemplative walk to the Reconciliation Pole
- If you are off campus, take a walk in nature to reflect and appreciate the original inhabitants of the land you live and work on
- Read President Ono’s 2018 statement of apology to Indian residential school survivors and, more generally, to Indigenous people, for the university’s involvement in the system that supported the operation of the schools
I am continually grateful for the opportunities I have to learn with my VPS family about Indian residential schools and reconciliation. I hope you all have a wonderful week and a great start to October.