The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, will be marked with a special ceremony on Sept. 29 at Na'tsa'maht on Camosun College's Lansdowne campus.
"Orange Shirt Day is a time to honour the strength, resilience, and spirit of Residential School Survivors, while remembering the children who never made it home to their families and communities," says Levi Glass, Indigenous Coordinator, Centre for Indigenous Education and Community Connections. "Today, as we hear the stories shared by Survivors, we are entrusted with their truths. By sitting together and listening with open hearts, we honour the strength of Survivors. We commit to moving forward together as one in the spirit of Na'tsa'maht, by turning remembrance into shared responsibility and action."
The afternoon ceremony starts at 1:30pm at Na'tsa'maht, Lansdowne campus. The ceremony will feature speakers including students Kathy Bryce and Michelle George who will speak from the heart about their educational journey and what Orange Shirt Day means to them. Virgil Sampson, a Coast Salish artist from the Tsartlip Nation, will speak as well.
"The theme of the ceremony this year at Camosun College is Healing through the Land'," says Doug Harrison, Chair of Community Learning Partnerships. "Locally, there has been a lot happening with regards to land, including the new government-to-government protocol agreement between the Songhees Nation and the CRD, and various First Nations projects that aim to restore, revitalize, and preserve the land for generations to come. This year's theme shines light on the importance of our relationship to the land, on the work being done to mend that broken relationship, and on the possibility of healing through this collaborative stewardship."
