September 29, 2025
“THE CLASS OF 2026 WILL BE THE FIRST COHORT IN BC to complete their K-12 public education with the history of Indian Residential Schools fully integrated into their curriculum,” explains the First Nations Health Authority on its website.
“On Orange Shirt Day 2025, FNHA is celebrating the start of a landmark school year, one that moves us closer towards achieving the ‘Truth’ in Truth and Reconciliation.”
Phyllis Webstad, the Residential School Survivor who started Orange Shirt Day in 2013 in Williams Lake, BC,
will be on hand to honour the Class of 2026 at a historic graduation ceremony at BC Place in April 2026. The Orange Shirt Society is collaborating with school districts to ensure representation from graduating classes from across the province. Graduates, friends, family, community members and allies are invited to join in celebrating this powerful moment on the journey of reconciliation. Tickets will be available in early 2026.
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We acknowledge that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.