Orange Shirt Day Intergenerational March

LOCATION

Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre Canada - 1985 Learners' Walk, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

ABOUT THE EVENT

Orange Shirt Day is a day to honour and uphold Survivors and intergenerational Survivors of the Indian residential school system, and to commemorate those who didn’t return home. On September 30th, UBC will be holding an Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day led by the Faculties of Applied Science and Land & Food Systems. The event will open at the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre (near IKB Library) and conclude at the Engineering Cairn.

BPI EDI.I Committee is organizing a meetup for BPI members to gather and walk together to join the march. We will meet at the Pulp & Paper Centre at 11:30am from where Ariane Fernandes and Anderson Veiga (Co-chairs of BPI EDI.I Committee) will guide us to the main event location. 

Please RSVP by fillling out the below form. The first 30 people among those who sign up by Sep 25th AND attend the event will receive the official t-shirt designed by Musqueam artist Alec Guerin for this year's Orange Shirt Day. All the profits from the t-shirt sales will go to the Orange Shirt Society and the Indian Residential School Survivor Society. The winners will be notified via email by Sep 26th and their t-shirts will be available for pick up at the meetup at PPC. 

AGENDA

• 11:30AM: Meet in the lobby of the Pulp & Paper Centre at 2385 East Mall, pick up t-shirts, and march to the event location
• 11:45 AM: Join other participants of the event at outdoor ‘amphitheatre’ at the Indian Residential School History & Dialogue Centre.
• 12:00 PM: The event officially starts, and Dana-Lyn Mackenzie, a member of the Hwlitsum First Nation and Senior Manager of EDI.I for the Faculty of Applied Science, introduces an Elder.
• 12:05 PM: Elder Doris Fox from Musqueam delivers the opening remarks.
• 12:20 PM: Enjoy a performance by Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolfpack), a traditional Coast Salish song and dance group.
• 12:50 PM: Dana-Lyn provides details about the march route, identifies volunteers, and explains the march map and QR code.
• 1:00 PM: The march officially begins, complete with placards and informational signage, starting from the Dialogue Center and proceeding down Main Mall.
• 1:45 PM: Elder John Jones of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, a survivor of the Alberni Residential School, delivers a heartfelt speech at the Reconciliation Pole, located at the end of Main Mall near the Forestry Building.
• 2:15 PM: Closing words are shared by Dean Rickey Yada and Dean James Olson at the Reconciliation Pole on Main Mall.
• 2:25–3:00 PM: Volunteers are available to collect messages of support and solidarity for the speakers, especially the Elders, at the Reconciliation Pole on Main Mall.
• 2:30 PM: Danilo Caron, the march co-organizer, a PhD student in civil engineering, and the Indigenous Student Engagement Coordinator for UBC Engineering Academic Services, outlines the day's activities, expresses gratitude to volunteers, and directs participants to the final activities at the Reconciliation Pole on Main Mall.
• 2:30 PM: All participants have the opportunity to add written messages of support, solidarity, and handprints to the cairn located on Main Mall, Engineering cairn outside of the Kaiser building.
• 3:00 PM: The Intergenerational March concludes.

We hope to see you all at the event. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at contact.bpi@ubc.ca.

- BPI EDI.I Committee (Co-chairs: Ariane Fernandes, Daniela Figueroa, Akash Gondaliya, Yalan Liang, Adriana Manso, Marina Mehling, Kelley Oh, Gregory Paradis, Orlando Rojas, Sumi Siddiqua, Qingshi Tu, Heather Trajano, Anderson Veiga, Shiva Zargar)

Please fill out the below form to register for the event.