Looking forward to National Day of Reconciliation – The Hill Times

September 11, 2023

Vancouver and the Lower Mainland enjoy a handful of Indigenous-owned art galleries and gift shops, restaurants, and hotels. There’s something different on the West Coast about the high demand to learn more about Indigenous Peoples from locals and tourists alike.

OTTAWA—Phyllis (Jack) Webstad was taken to the Mission residential school in British Columbia in 1973 wearing her orange shirt that she picked out specially for the day. The orange shirt was removed from her, never to be seen again. As an adult, Phyllis founded the Orange Shirt Society in Williams Lake, B.C., and led the designation of Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30, which is also Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

So we wear orange to remember both the survivors and those who didn’t make it. There’s still more truth to be told as schools and hospitals are searched for unmarked graves of Indigenous Peoples.

And there are truths and stories about healing and thriving.

Here is a good news story: Indigenous tourism.

Read More: https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2023/09/11/looking-forward-to-national-day-of-reconciliation/396554/