On September 30, 2025, our Maamwesying Ontario Health Team Indigenous Cultural Safety Coordinator Shawna Boyer was invited to lead a gathering of patients, community members, board members and volunteers, in a ceremony held to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at St. Joseph’s General Hospital – Elliot Lake (SJGHEL).
September 30th is a day of profound significance. It is Orange Shirt Day, a grassroots-led movement by Phyllis Webstad, a member of Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation. When Phyllis arrived for her first day at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School, her personal belongings – including a new orange shirt gifted to her by her grandmother – were taken from her. Today, the orange shirt is a symbol of the systematic stripping away of identity, culture, freedom, and self-esteem that was the core function of the residential school system.
September 30th is also a federal statutory holiday that was established in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) Calls to Action, which serve as a road map to reconciliation.
The TRC included specific Calls to Action for the healthcare system. It calls for a comprehensive plan for systemic change in the delivery of health care for Indigenous patients and their families. Events such as the one at SJGHEL reaffirm our commitment to continue working for this change, making hospitals more welcoming, respectful, and culturally safe environments for healing for Indigenous patients and families.
Guests of honour at the event included Nancy Whitehead, a Knowledge Keeper, and Marilyn Mulholland, Elder and former residential school student.
“Events like these highlight the willingness for our hospital partners to work with us to ensure that hospitals are welcoming, respectful, and culturally safe environments,” says Shawna Boyer, Cultural Safety Coordinator, Maamwesying Ontario Health Team. “It is affirming to share ceremony, stories and hope for continued progress toward a more inclusive hospital environment – one where Indigenous people feel valued, where traditional healing practices are respected, and systemic barriers are addressed.”
In the photos: Nancy Whitehead, Knowledge Keeper, Shawna Boyer, Indigenous Cultural Safety Coordinator, Marilyn Mulholland, Elder and former residential school student, and Kelli-Ann Lemieux, President and CEO, SJGHEL.
