Niagara Falls turning orange for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Published September 29, 2022 at 1:53 pm
Niagara Falls will be lit up in orange on September 30 in honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The falls will shine a bright shade of orange for 15 minutes every hour, at the top of the hour, throughout the evening, beginning at 8 pm.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was established to commemorate the tragic history and ongoing legacy of the residential schools system in Canada.
September 30 is also recognized as Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led grassroots initiative that honours residential school survivors and remembers those who did not.
The day relates to the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation and her first day at a residential school, where she arrived dressed in a new orange shirt, which was taken from her.
The colour orange has become a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem, experienced by Indigenous children over generations and as an affirmation of the commitment to ensure that every child matters.
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