On September 27th I had the honour of participating in an event at the UBC Chan Centre titled, Returning Home and Paths to Reconciliation. The event was organized by the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. The feature speaker was Phyllis Webstad, the Orange Shirt Day Originator.
The event also included a screening of a new film, “Returning Home,” directed by award-winning filmmaker Sean Stiller. The film weaves the story of two parallel narratives. The first is the story of Phyllis Webstad, a Survivor of the former St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in Williams Lake and originator of Orange Shirt Day. The second is the story of the steady decline of wild pacific salmon. The film is set to tour the film festival circuit this fall, beginning with the Vancouver Film Festival in October 2021.
Phyllis has edited a resource book to help develop an understanding of the background and purpose of Orange Shirt Day. This new book and her other books are available from Medicine Wheel Education.
Best wishes, travel well
Jo-ann Archibald
INDIGENOUS STORYWORK 