Students at local schools are participating in Orange Shirt Day today.
Organizers set up Orange Shirt Day to create awareness of the intergenerational impacts of residential schools through orange shirt society activities and promote the concept of Every Child Matters.
In an email, Strait Regional Centre for Education regional executive director Paul Landry stated Orange Shirt Day is a time to honour residential school survivors, remember the children who did not return home, and recognize the lasting impact of Canada’s residential school system on Indigenous people.
Landry stated National Day for Truth and Reconciliation provides an important learning opportunity for all of us in the education system to take time to pause and reflect; and have important and meaningful conversations about our shared history and the impact and harm caused by residential schools, including their impact here in Nova Scotia.
Allan Syliboy and the Thundermakers are hosting a free concert at the Schwartz auditorium at 7 this evening at STFX.
Local municipal offices will close Wednesday, September 30, as part of national Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Paq’tnkek First Nation is also hosting some activities today, with poster making at the gym starting at 4, followed by an awareness walk at 4:30 from the gym to Bayside Travel Centre, ribbon tying, and then a light meal and social. On Wednesday, the community is hosting a volunteer led community brunch from 11-1, followed by a family fun day starting at 2 at the gym.
