Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day is commemorated to create awareness and meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools in Canada. It's an important day to come together with respect and listen to the stories of survivors and their families – to honour them, everyone is encouraged to wear an orange shirt. 

Respect for others and the environment go hand in hand. Since B.C is powered by water, for Orange Shirt Day this year, we would like to highlight the unique relationship Indigenous Peoples have with water. With the help of Indigenous educators and subject matter experts, we developed teaching resources that will have your students learn about energy, water conservation, reconciliation, and more. 

To help you take part, here are our 26 curriculum-aligned K – 12 activities with accompanying worksheets, slides and handouts for your class. Inspire your students to learn about water through the teachings and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples.

Grade K – 3

• Listen to the water
• Sense-ational water
• The importance of water
• Honouring water
• Vividly describing water
• Drops of wisdom
• What powerful words best describe where we live?

Grade 4 – 6

• Learning about water from traditional teachings
• Interconnected by water
• Living in a good way with water
• Seven generations thinking
• Two-eyed seeing
• Stewards of the water

Grade 7 – 9

• Diverse perspectives of water
• Respectful dam designs
• Honouring and describing the movement of water
• Indigenous communities and climate resilience
• Respectfully meeting future energy needs
• How does hydroelectric power impact Indigenous communities?
• The harmonious power of water

Grade 10 – 12

• Respectful collaboration to create sustainable energy
• Should water have rights? 
• Reconciliation and energy 
• Understanding the hydrologic cycle 
• Thinking about water and climate change 
• Exploring perspectives on sustainability