PeaceHealth
10/07/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/07/2026 14:59
St. Joseph caregivers, guests walk together for Orange Shirt Day
PeaceHealth St. Joseph caregivers and honored guests gathered Sept. 30 to commemorate Orange Shirt Day, acknowledging the tragic history and intergenerational impacts of residential schools on Indigenous children, their families and communities.
Hosted by the PeaceHealth Tribal Alliance Group (TAG), the event was one of several held across the PeaceHealth system for the observance also known as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
The orange shirt symbolizes the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
More than two-dozen attendees met outside near the East Tower main entrance for the welcome and remarks. Guests included James Scott, Lummi Nation Elder, who gave a blessing (video here), and his granddaughter, Mackayla Alvarez, who read a poem she'd written for the occasion called "The Next Seven Generations" (video here).
Participants then walked a loop to the east by the Central Parking Garage and Cancer Center then back to the main entrance. Many wore orange T-shirts with a beautiful design by the artist Helen Hayes, a member of the Spokane Nation and the mother of the co-owner of Hest Collections, a local Native-owned design company.
Spanning from the 1880s through the 1960s, over 500 government and/or religious-affiliated Indian boarding schools in the U.S. and Canada contributed to the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of children from their families and communities with the intent of stripping away culture, Indigenous knowledge, language and traditions. While the United States has not yet formally recognized Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, across the United States the day is honored by people gathering to raise awareness of the impacts of residential and boarding schools on children in North America and promote that "Every Child Matters."
A big thank you to Therese Horan, Rachel Lucy, Danielle Bourey and other TAG members involved in planning the event.
Enjoy photos from the day.
PeaceHealth published this content on October 07, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 07, 2026 at 20:59 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]