Event: Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day
The 2025 Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day will take place Tuesday, Sept. 30 on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) People at UBC Vancouver.
Organized by the faculties of forestry and land and food systems, the event honours and upholds Residential School Survivors and their families. It provides space to listen, learn and reflect on the impacts of Canada’s colonial history.
The year’s theme, “Walking Forward: Honouring Youth, Carrying Hope,” highlights the intergenerational impacts of Residential Schools and the resilience of Indigenous youth. The event will include remarks from Residential School Survivor Sam George, and performances by Aileen Michel (Lil’Bear) and Mitchell Tourangeau. Indigenous student drummers will perform.
Participants are invited to join in the march down Main Mall and share messages of support and action for reconciliation on the Engineering cairn outside the Kaiser Building.
Event Date/Time: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, 11:45 a.m. – 3 p.m.
See here for a breakdown of march locations and activities.
Location: Outdoor “amphitheatre” at 1956 Main Mall (Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre), Vancouver, V6T 1Z1 (map)
Parking: North Parkade, 6115 Student Union Blvd., Vancouver V6T 1Z1 (map)
Interview opportunities:
- Dana-Lyn Mackenzie, member of the Hwlitsum First Nation, senior manager EDI and Indigeneity for the faculties of forestry and land and food systems, and co-lead of the Intergenerational March
- Other interviewees available on request
Note to assignment editors:
Organizers will be available for interviews at 11 a.m. outside the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. Please arrive early to pick up badges and set up cameras. Please RSVP to media.relations@ubc.ca by Monday, Sept. 29.
A note from the event organizers on respectful engagement on Orange Shirt Day
Orange Shirt Day is a day to recognize the Indian Residential School system that many Indigenous children were forced to attend. The fallout of Residential Schools is felt and experienced generationally by Survivors and Intergenerational Survivors. September 30 is an important and meaningful day for Indigenous people to honour and remember our Survivors and children who didn’t make it home.
As more non-Indigenous Canadians learn about the history and impacts of Residential Schools, we encourage sensitive engagement on Orange Shirt Day. We encourage being respectful to Survivors’ healing journeys. It is not appropriate to ask insensitive or invasive questions. Bearing witness and listening are meaningful ways to honour Survivors’ stories.
Visit here for more resources and information on events being held at UBC around Orange Shirt Day.
Educational resources
To learn more about Orange Shirt Day or Indian Residential School history, visit:
- 3 things you might not know about Orange Shirt Day
- 6 ways to deepen your understanding of Indian residential school history
- How the truth about Indian Residential Schools in Canada was suppressed
- What are Indian day schools? 3 things you might not know
- Truth before Reconciliation: 8 ways to identify and confront Residential School Denialism
