The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is fast approaching on September 30th and the University of Winnipeg is giving out 500 free orange shirts to observe the federal holiday. This year’s design was created by Micaela Gilbert, an artist from the Sagkeeng First Nation, about 100 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. It features a jingle dress dancer who brings good medicine and a young grass dancer, symbolizing a path forward to follow. Grace Redhead, director of Indigenous community relations at the University of Winnipeg, told CTV News that the school tries to update the design biannually. “(The artist) was a vendor here at a market we had last year. She has amazing artwork and stationery. I really enjoy her traditional Anishinaabe floral designs,” Redhead recalled. Gilbert wasn’t available for an interview on Tuesday but sent a statement. “I felt honoured, as it would be my first time to find a way to express what Orange Shirt Day means to me through art.” she said. “I thought this (the design) would be a good way to represent our journey of healing and creating a new path for our youth to learn, remember, and to honour the meaning of Orange Shirt Day.” ‘A way for us to come forward’: UWSA The University of Winnipeg Students Association (UWSA) gave out the shirts to passersby Tuesday. “It is a way for us to come forward, take part, and join hands in this effort in understanding and reconciling for all the discrimination and institutional horrors that have happened,” president of UWSA, Alan Koshy said. One of the students who picked up the shirt is Rowan Keagan, who is in the Faculty of Education. “I think it’s awesome that it’s free because then, every person can have it – especially like students. Sometimes we’re not the most wealthy of people and have the access of money to buy shirts,” Keagan said. “It’s a really great option for people and a great opportunity for everyone to get that.” For Redhead, it’s about working together in a respectful, united way. “It’s really nice and refreshing to see somebody in an orange shirt,” she said. “When I see them walking at a distance, it signals to me that they’re an ally, a friend, somebody that is empathetic.”
