From OrangeShirtDay.org

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in May 2013… The events were designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. 

From Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools

Deneen Hawryszko, a Grade 8 student at St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School, will be a symbol for this year’s Orange Shirt Day. Every year on September 30, students and staff from across the division recognize Orange Shirt Day to show a collective commitment to ensuring that every child matters.

“We put out a division-wide call for artwork at the beginning of June to give students the opportunity to develop an understanding of what Orange Shirt Day is all about. As we work towards reconciliation, our goal for students is to give them the opportunity to reflect on the journey of survivors and their families of residential schools and that every child matters. This helps create and foster a sense of belonging in our schools,” said Coordinator Selena Frizzley at First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Support Team.

Here is Deneen Hawryszko’s explanation of her artwork:

“Originally I wanted the child to be looking at their ancestors, as Indigenous people go through generational trauma from the residential schools, colonization and mass murder of their people and culture. Though since there was a chance of it being on a shirt I reconsidered and did some more research. I found the bear was a sign of strength and the symbol inside of it represented protection. The circle the bear is inside also is a symbol of the moon, which represents many things like protection and grandmother moon, who is the leader of feminine life, which is a nod to the missing and murdered indigenous women today.”