How We Show Support

Survivor's Flag: School District 48 (Sea to Sky) has a long-standing commitment to supporting Indigenous Education and has wholeheartedly taken on many reconciliation initiatives, one of which is the raising of The Survivors’ Flag at every SD48 site in the week leading up to National Truth & Reconciliation Day.

To provide some background context, in response to the uncovering of the remains of 215 children at the former Kamloops Residential School in May 2021, SD48 joined the nation in lowering Canadian flags to half-mast. After consulting with local Indigenous communities and with the Board of Education's full support, we have kept flags at half-mast until Survivors' Flags could be raised district wide in honour of Indigenous survivors and their families, and as a symbol of our ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.

We are so very grateful for everyone’s continued support and patience as we awaited delivery of all poles for installation across the Sea to Sky corridor. We're excited to announce that flagpoles are now in place at all SD48 sites, allowing us to raise The Survivors' Flag. In preparation for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, schools throughout the district, in consultation with local Indigenous communities, will host flag-raising ceremonies during the week of September 25th, featuring discussions, drumming, singing, dancing, additional organized activities and the participation of Elders and cultural workers. Following flag raising ceremonies, the Canadian flag will be raised from half-mast.

Of course, students, staff, and families are encouraged to wear orange in honour of survivors, those who never returned, and the enduring impact of residential schools.

For more information about the Survivors’ Flag, please visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s website: https://nctr.ca/exhibits/survivors-flag/

Folks are encouraged to check out their school’s newsletters for more detail on the meaningful ways in which their school is recognizing this important day.

Wear Orange: We wear orange shirts, particularly throughout the month of September, in honour of survivors, of those who never returned, and of the ongoing legacy of Residential Schools. If you are interested in purchasing an orange shirt, we encourage you to purchase it from one of the listed retailers at https://www.orangeshirtday.org/shirt-retailers.html. There are other ways to wear orange and show your support too. For example, an orange ribbon or strips of an orange t-shirt can be worn on a wrist. Some schools have used paper to cut out small orange t-shirts to pin onto students’ clothing.