Congratulations to Erika Poirier and Marja Frederiksen of St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School for their beautiful t-shirt design in honour of Orange Shirt Day which will take place in October.

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and
communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations
of children to come. According to orangeshirtday.org, “The annual Orange Shirt …
opens the door to global conversation on all aspects of Residential Schools. It is an
opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools
and the legacy they have left behind. A discussion all Canadians can tune into and
create bridges with each other for reconciliation. A day for survivors to be reaffirmed
that they matter, and so do those that have been affected. Every Child Matters, even
if they are an adult, from now on.”

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be honouring Orange Shirt day on
October 1st, 2018 of the upcoming school year.

Don’t cave to any public pressures of any kind. That was the message delivered to students at St. Benedict as part of a school wide assembly this week.

The assembly was put on by the Indigenous Club and Diversity Club in partnership with funding from a Speak Up grant provided by the Ministry of Education.

Boys with Braids events were first started by Michael Linklater, a Cree from Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan who wanted to raise awareness of why Indigenous boys and men wear a braid. Linklater was teased and bullied at school.

Speakers Charles Petahtegoose from Atikameksheng and Wasauksing along with Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, a traditional co-ordinator at Shkagamik-Kwe Health shared their wisdom on why braids are a symbol of strength and wisdom that reflects identity.
The speakers were able to explain to the students that the issue transcends braids to anything they see in society from another culture.

Afterwards, the speakers held a power circle teaching for a group of students to talk about how braids, bullying and the struggle to conform has impacted their lives.