Edmonton events commemorate 6th annual Orange Shirt Day

Sunday marks Orange Shirt Day and events around Edmonton are commemorating the annual campaign, which honours Canada’s residential school survivors and recognizes the wrongs that were committed.

Edmonton Public Schools held an event Friday morning at Kim Hung School in west Edmonton where students learned the importance of reflecting on the history of Indigenous people in Canada and learning how the community heals through dance, drumming and sharing.

READ MORE: Canadians urged to partake in Orange Shirt Day to honour residential school survivors

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Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan and Education Minister David Eggen released a dual statement in support of Orange Shirt Day:

“It is important to remember the history and legacy of residential schools. Every child matters regardless of where they live, and we must move forward together on the journey of reconciliation.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is important to remember the history and legacy of residential schools. Every child matters regardless of where they live, and we must move forward together on the journey of reconciliation."

READ MORE: ‘It was the worst years of my life’: Alberta elder opens up about residential schools on Orange Shirt Day

The Orange Shirt Day campaign began in Williams Lake, B.C. in 2013 and was inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, who was sent to a residential school in 1973 when she was six years old. On her first day, school officials took away an orange shirt that her grandmother bought for her.

“I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine!” Webstad wrote in a post on the Orange Shirt Day campaign’s website.

“The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn't matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing."

WATCH: This is the 3rd annual Orange Shirt Day in Alberta, and Safe and Caring Schools and Communities is holding Orange Shirt Day events across Alberta this weekend. 

5:03 Show your support this weekend with Orange Shirt Day

Youth speaker Shaunteya Dase English Eaglechild said the impact of residential schools has been far-reaching.

“The inter-generational trauma has been passed down and the effects are long lasting, and I myself feel them within my families and communities and I see them,” Eaglechild said.

“It’s difficult to understand. The circumstances you’re being faced with without knowing why, especially contributing to the lack of traditional parenting, the loss of our language and culture, a lot has been taken from us.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's difficult to understand. The circumstances you're being faced with without knowing why, especially contributing to the lack of traditional parenting, the loss of our language and culture, a lot has been taken from us."

An event led by Safe and Caring Schools and Communities was held Friday at Edmonton’s City Hall to commemorate Orange Shirt Day.