Frog Hollow Orange Shirt Day Commemoration Event-2023

Gather with the community for a meaningful Orange Shirt Day commemoration, the National day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Thursday, Sept 28th, 2022
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Parking lot of Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, 2131 Renfrew St. Vancouver

This is a family-friendly community event that offers space to raise awareness and encourages everyone to educate themselves and do what they can to participate in the journey towards reconciliation and decolonization.

Join us for Indigenous speakers, drumming and story telling. We will also offer smudging, medicine bags, learning materials, and refreshments. You are invited to share your voices and collaborate on a community banner, which will be carried during the Orange Shirt Day walk on September 30th in town.

September 30th is Orange Shirt Day – National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House will be closed to mark this day and honor the children who never returned home, survivors of residential schools, as well as the families and communities affected. A group of Frog Hollow staff and community members will be joining the memorial walk with Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre and Britannia from Hastings, Commercial to Grandview Park on Sept 30.

Some of the Indigenous knowledge keepers we are blessed to have at the event so far include 🧡Norm Leech, 🧡Elder Kung Jaadee (Roberta Kennedy) , 🧡Elder Aline LaFlamme, and 🧡 the Carnegie lexwst’í:lem Drum Group.

Elder Kung Jaadee (Roberta Kennedy) is a professional storyteller, educator and published author belonging to the X̱aayda (Haida), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) First Nations. Her Haida name, Kung Jaadee, means ‘Moon Woman’ and was presented to her at her great uncle’s memorial feast by her cousin Crystal Robinson. Over the past 28 years, Kung Jaadee has performed traditional Haida legends, while also sharing vivid personal stories about her clan’s survival of the smallpox epidemic, and the history and culture of her people. She has performed at hundreds of festivals, schools and Aboriginal celebrations across Canada... Learn more>>

Elder Aline LaFlamme is a Metis grandmother, pipe carrier, Sundancer, drum maker, singer, traditional healer, therapist and workshop facilitator. She is the founder and past Executive Director of the Aboriginal Front Door Society, located in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, and a founding member of the Daughters of the Drum.

Carnegie lexwst’í:lem Drum Group – By way of the Carnegie Centre Cultural Sharing Program, members of the DTES community have come together to form – The lexwst’í:lem Drum Group. We are honored to share the Halq’eméylem word lexwst’í:lem for “Always singing” – As we live and learn on the traditional territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil- Waututh). Our diverse drum group of both Indigenous and Non Indigenous cultures – performs and shares songs from various Indigenous Nations across Canada. We are proud to keep learning the language, music and song while sharing and keeping Indigenous Culture strong Gila’kasla – Haw’aa – T’ooyaksim’ N’iisim’ – Thank you.