September 13, 2021

Heritage and History Months

The Toronto District School Board is proud to recognize important days of significance throughout the school year. As part of that, the TDSB recognizes a number of heritage and history months, many of which are organized by a number of interested individuals including Trustees, staff and community members. These dedicated individuals offer their time and energy to plan activities that celebrate the month and our diverse TDSB community.

If you’re interested in joining a particular history or heritage month planning committee, please contact Dani Carnevale, Service Co-ordinator at dani.carnevale@tdsb.on.ca

Indigenous Days of Significance

~from the TDSB Web

Indigenous Education Days of Significance Poster

Indigenous Education Days of Significance Poster (text only)

September

Orange Shirt Day - September 30

Phyllis Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation in British Columbia, was forced to attend St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School, as her relatives before her. She entered the school in 1973, having just turned six years old, wearing a brand new orange shirt her grandmother had bought for her. It was immediately confiscated by the staff and replaced with a uniform. She never saw her new orange shirt again, and began to associate the colour with the traumatic experiences in the school, including the theft of language and cultural identity she endured.

In 2013, Webstad transformed her dehumanizing experiences of residential school into something positive by working with then National Grand Chief Shawn Atleo and the Assembly of First Nations to establish a nationally recognized Orange Shirt Day. Marked annually on September 30th, this day acknowledges the residential school system in Canada, honours those that survived, remembers those who did not, and recognizes the ongoing effects of intergenerational trauma. It is a day to demonstrate, by wearing orange, that all students matter. In the words of survivor and author Larry Loyie, it may also be seen as a day for “the students of today who want to know about the students of yesterday” (Residential Schools: With the Words and Images of Survivors, 2014).

Orange Shirt Day has been marked across Canada in a variety of ways, including Orange Ribbon campaigns, commemorative walks, and wearing orange shirts. Through social media campaigns it has also gone global, reaching as far as Italy and Sweden. Over 6500 survivor statements have been collected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which concluded in 2016 after six years of research and testimonies. The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair has stated “reconciliation must fall in the hands of Canadians, not solely with Indigenous peoples.” Ultimately, wearing orange shirts on September 30 is a visual reminder of our shared past as Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, and provides an opportunity for dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in shaping our shared future.

Upcoming Committee Meetings

The Toronto District School Board is committed to developing opportunities for our wider school community to connect and engage in conversations about education issues. Meetings will be broadcasted live to the public. Click HERE at the start time to view.