Orange Shirt Day
Atheana Picha × Aritzia
We’ve partnered with Atheana Picha, an interdisciplinary Salish artist from the Kwantlen First Nation, to create t-shirts for Orange Shirt Day.
100% of the proceeds will be donated to Orange Shirt Society — an organization that fosters reconciliation in response to the intergenerational impacts of residential schools.
Atheana
Picha
Salish interdisciplinary artist
Atheana Picha is a Salish interdisciplinary artist from the Kwantlen First Nation. Her art is grounded in a quest to understand more about Salish design, specifically through studying older pieces, observing nature and learning from her teachers and Elders.
On Orange Shirt Day:
Orange Shirt Day, to me, represents the honouring of Elders that have lived with this dark cloud over them for so long. Debra Sparrow talks about her experience growing up with people that had gone through residential school and how it felt like a dark cloud hanging over everybody all the time. This is a way to honour those who made it back and those who didn't as well.
On “Every Child Matters”:
Every Child Matters is a phrase coined by Phyllis Webstad from the Canoe Creek, Dog Creek First Nation, who also founded Orange Shirt Day. The phrase is meant to recognize children who went to residential school, ones who never made it home, and ones who are still healing.
“[Every Child Matters] is a phrase meant to recognize children who went to residential school, ones who never made it home, and ones who are still healing.”
On inspiration:
I'm always looking for opportunities to look for Coast Salish design in nature and in our everyday life. I feel inspired when I'm around my Elders and teachers because they're always looking out for each other. They're making sure that they're holding everybody up no matter what they're doing. Seeing how my mentors and teachers are doing everything in a very Salish way is always inspiring to me.
On staying connected to her heritage:
I'm living it. You can't really separate it. I can't just close my eyes one day and say, “I'm no longer connected to my culture.” It just doesn't work that way. It’s ingrained in who I am and also in my way of life. Yes, I could be working harder to eat more traditionally, and work harder to learn my traditional language, but living in a traditional way or in a cultural way isn't about just doing the artwork or going fishing. It's about how you're treating other people. Taking time to listen and learn. To me, that's a very Salish way of doing things and it's a very cultural way. It's not about how flashy you are, but about how you are honouring your community.
“I feel inspired when I'm around my Elders and teachers because they're always looking out for each other. They're making sure that they're holding everybody up no matter what they're doing.”
Our Commitment
Supporting Indigenous Communities
We’re committed to actively working towards reconciliation both within our organization and in our communities. We're pleased to partner with The Circle on Philanthropy as we engage in this important work. We’re proud to support the following community organizations: Orange Shirt Society, Urban Native Youth Association, Sovereign Seeds and Pow Wow Pitch.
Learning Journey
We work with Indigenous leaders to ensure our continuous learning on equity-seeking Indigenous peoples worldwide.
The Circle on Philanthropy
We’ve partnered with The Circle on Philanthropy — an organization that works to ethically steward resources from the philanthropic sector to Indigenous communities. This partnership connects Aritzia with a large network of Indigenous organizations helping create systemic change and increase equity, justice and sovereignty for Indigenous peoples.
Internships
We have dedicated spots in our annual internship program for newly graduated Indigenous students. The program provides coaching and mentorship from world-class leaders to provide meaningful business experience and support growth potential.
International day of the world's indigenous peoples
We honour and celebrate Indigenous nations across the globe.
Learn MoreInternational day of the world's indigenous peoples
