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Woodland Cultural Centre promoting Orange Shirt Day with virtual programming

The Woodland Cultural Centre located on the grounds of the former Mohawk Institute have been offering virtual programming to students and businesses throughout the month on September. They will be honouring survivors in a special survivors only event on September 30
Andrew Dow - CJKS - Ohsweken • ON | 23-09-2022
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The National for Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day, is coming up on the second year of it being recognized a statutory holiday across Canada and the Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) in Brantford is marking the day. The centre is taking the opportunity to promote the upcoming day of remembrance through virtual programming for elementary and high schools as well as organizations.

This year, the WCC has been providing virtual programs leading up to Sept. 30. The programming started on Sept. 12 and will continue right up to Sept. 29. On Orange Shirt Day (Sept. 30), the WCC will be holding a private, survivors-only event, and some virtual tours for schools.

Janis Montour, executive director for WCC, said the goal is to raise awareness, honour and educate the students on the history on residential schools. The WCC also has a virtual tour of the Mohawk Institute available for the public throughout the year.

Montour spoke about how Orange Shirt Day became a bigger day of remembrance over the past few years.

"I think just having it more broader in a lot more different ways to be spread in indigenous and non-indigenous communities. I think we're seeing it come a little bit more to the forefront," she said.

"We're starting to hear about it in more broader settings than just in Indigenous organizations or Indigenous communities, which, I think, is really important," she continued. "And we're also seeing a lot of people, even in non-Indigenous communities, developing events in collaboration or by themselves but doing those different sort of events where 100 per cent of the proceeds are going to Indigenous causes related to the residential schools or the school survivors. So I think more and more, people are looking at ways to how to volunteer or how to get involved, and I think acknowledging that day and showing the history of it is very important."

The WCC encourages anyone looking for more details or booking a virtual tour to reach out to Woodland Cultural Centre, you can email tours@woodlandculturalcentre.ca.

Listen to the full CJKS interview with Janis Montour below:

 

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