Project Name
Orange Shirt Project: Acts of Remembrance, Respect and Reconciling
Team Members
Dr. Shannon Leddy
Dr. Lorrie Miller
Dr. Kerry Renwick
Heather Clarke
Project Summary
The Orange Shirt Project is an art installation developed to acknowledge the impact of residential schools for Indigenous people in Canada. It is a pedagogy of the public, providing an ongoing reminder and a challenge to what has been a hidden or opaque piece of history for many settlers in Canada. It is a way to stand with Indigenous people, recognizing their loss and pain while looking towards healing. Each orange shirt that is created is a reminder of a young person whose death was recorded at Indian Residential Schools, and those who were lost and left in unmarked graves. This installation invites recognition about what is (truth) before turning to understanding and then engagement in acts of reconciling. It invites inquiry and engagement with learning for being and becoming more human, and humane. As an act of ongoing remembrance, it demonstrates meaningful and respectful ways to work with Indigenous histories and voices.
