Every Child Matters today and everyday. Today is a day to honour the Survivors of residential schools, which were systematic, government- sponsored projects of forced assimilation, cultural erasure, and genocide that continues to reverberate through Indigenous families and communities. Today and everyday we remember the children who never made it home.
Wearing orange is one way to show solidarity, but reconciliation also asks us to move beyond symbols. For non-Indigenous people, this means listening with openness to the truths of Indigenous Peoples, doing the work of independent learning, and taking action to help dismantle the systems of harm that persist.
Some resources and local events to begin with:
- About Orange Shirt Day https://orangeshirtday.org/orange-shirt-day/
- Yellowhead Institute Treaty Map https://treatymap.yellowheadinstitute.org/
- Southern Chiefs’ Organization 5th annual Orange Shirt Day Healing Walk and Powwow at 10 a.m. September 30 at the Oodena Circle at The Forks (a listing of more events shared by SCO here https://scoinc.mb.ca/orange-shirt-day-events/).
- The Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre Every Child Matters gathering at 445 King St at 9 a.m. September 30.
- WFG online education resource curated by Lita Fontaine “Welcome to the Neighbourhood: Inside the Winnipeg Film Group’s Indigenous Film and Video Collections” https://vucavu.com/en/welcome-to-the-neighbourhood-inside-the-winnipeg-f
- Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art (MAWA) Two-Spirit Teachings with Albert McLeod at 7 p.m. at 329 Cumberland Ave, Suite 203 October 1.
- Support the Orange Shirt Society to help raise awareness across Canada about the legacy of Residential Schools and their continuing impacts on individuals, families and communities. Make a donation here https://orangeshirtday.org/support/
We gratefully acknowledge that the WFG is located on Treaty One Territory and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. We acknowledge these are the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anisininew, Ininiwak/Nehethowuk, Oceti Sakowin/Dakota Oyate, and Michif (Métis) Peoples.
We acknowledge that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in Treaty Three Territory, and that most of our hydro-electricity comes from Treaty Five Territory in northern Manitoba.
The WFG offices are closed today in honour of Orange Shirt Day, and will remain closed for the remainder of the week (for internal maintenance), reopening on Monday, October 6.