About the Orange Shirt Day Installation
Content Warning: This installation and resources contain subject matter that some readers may find distressing. A National Residential School Crisis Line has also been set up to provide support to former students and those affected. This 24-Hour Crisis Line can be accessed at 1-866-925-4419.
In 2021, findings of more than 1,700 unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools across Canada brought the world’s renewed attention to the dark and shameful chapter of Canadian history. The findings prompted investigations and searches for other graves at former residential school sites across the country.
Between 1831 and 1996, at least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation children were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend government-funded, church-run residential schools throughout Canada with the goal to assimilate Indigenous children. Many of these children never made it home.
While the exact number of residential school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records, there are estimates that over 6,000 unmarked graves have been found to date.
The Orange Shirt Day installation at the Leddy Library represents the thousands of young souls who didn’t make it home from residential school and have returned to the creator in the spirit world.
Located in the Library’s main stairwell, it contains roughly 6,000 small orange shirts strung together to acknowledge the unofficial number of unmarked graves of Indigenous children that have been uncovered.
A single strand of shirts was added on August 31, 2023, and like the Indigenous children who were ripped from their families over time, more shirts were added each day leading up to September 30th, Orange Shirt Day.
While the installation can be viewed from a variety of angles, we invite you to observe it from the bottom of the stairwell. Turn your head to the sky and see the souls returning to the spirit world. Take a moment to remember, reflect, and commit to reconciliation.
Created by the Library’s communication coordinator, Marcie Demmans, and the library’s Public Relations Committee, they hope this installation will increase public awareness of Orange Shirt Day and of the history and effects of the residential school system.
On September 29th, 2023, join us for Orange Shirt Day, a day to come together in the spirit of
hope and reconciliation.
Honour the residential school victims who didn’t come home.
Honour the survivors who have lived with the trauma of their experiences.
Honour their families who have lost and live with intergenerational trauma.
Honour the communities by learning, helping, and committing to reconciliation.
About the Artist: Marcie Demmans is Cree and part of the Muskoday First Nation community. She works as the Leddy Library’s Communication Coordinator and leads the library’s Public Relations Committee. The Orange Shirt Day installation would not be possible without the public relations committee: Laura Pepper, Christina Olsen, Dino Spagnuolo, Kawmadie Karunanayke, Julie Ferguson, Shuzhen Zhao, Adam Mulcaster, Berenica Vejvoda, Rong Luo, Roger Reka, Martin Deck, and Mary Popovich.
Content Warning: This installation and resources contain subject matter that some readers may find distressing. A National Residential School Crisis Line has also been set up to provide support to former students and those affected. This 24-Hour Crisis Line can be accessed at 1-866-925-4419.
In 2021, findings of more than 1,700 unmarked graves at the sites of former residential schools across Canada brought the world’s renewed attention to the dark and shameful chapter of Canadian history. The findings prompted investigations and searches for other graves at former residential school sites across the country.
Between 1831 and 1996, at least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation children were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend government-funded, church-run residential schools throughout Canada with the goal to assimilate Indigenous children. Many of these children never made it home.
While the exact number of residential school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records, there are estimates that over 6,000 unmarked graves have been found to date.
The Orange Shirt Day installation at the Leddy Library represents the thousands of young souls who didn’t make it home from residential school and have returned to the creator in the spirit world.
Located in the Library’s main stairwell, it contains roughly 6,000 small orange shirts strung together to acknowledge the unofficial number of unmarked graves of Indigenous children that have been uncovered.
A single strand of shirts was added on August 31, 2023, and like the Indigenous children who were ripped from their families over time, more shirts were added each day leading up to September 30th, Orange Shirt Day.
While the installation can be viewed from a variety of angles, we invite you to observe it from the bottom of the stairwell. Turn your head to the sky and see the souls returning to the spirit world. Take a moment to remember, reflect, and commit to reconciliation.
Created by the Library’s communication coordinator, Marcie Demmans, and the library’s Public Relations Committee, they hope this installation will increase public awareness of Orange Shirt Day and of the history and effects of the residential school system.
On September 29th, 2023, join us for Orange Shirt Day, a day to come together in the spirit of
hope and reconciliation.
Honour the residential school victims who didn’t come home.
Honour the survivors who have lived with the trauma of their experiences.
Honour their families who have lost and live with intergenerational trauma.
Honour the communities by learning, helping, and committing to reconciliation.
About the Artist: Marcie Demmans is Cree and part of the Muskoday First Nation community. She works as the Leddy Library’s Communication Coordinator and leads the library’s Public Relations Committee. The Orange Shirt Day installation would not be possible without the public relations committee: Laura Pepper, Christina Olsen, Dino Spagnuolo, Kawmadie Karunanayke, Julie Ferguson, Shuzhen Zhao, Adam Mulcaster, Berenica Vejvoda, Rong Luo, Roger Reka, Martin Deck, and Mary Popovich.
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