Annual Orange Shirt Run/Walk draws hundreds to support Indigenous community
Edmonton’s fifth annual Orange Shirt walk raised thousands for Indigenous charities
Participants gather near the finish line at Kinsmen Park Photo credit: Lane Golden
Hundreds gathered in Kinsmen Park near Edmonton’s River Valley on September 28 take part in the annual Orange Shirt Run/Walk a charity race that supports the Orange Shirt Society and Indigenous athletes.
The Orange Shirt Society promotes awareness about the impacts of residential schools and supports reconciliation through education and community initiatives. The Orange Shirt run has raised more than $35,000 for the organization, and additional funds have gone toward helping remove financial barriers for Indigenous athletes to participate in running events.
Event organizer Anita Cardinal started the run five years ago after the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation discovered unmarked graves at a former residential school site in Kamloops.
“It was a lot of grief that we were feeling,” said Cardinal, “I went out for a run, and I connected to the land, to Creator and to my spirit, and then we just wanted to find other ways to bring community together so we could all collectively learn, keep that conversation going.”
The Orange Shirt run holds an annual race in Edmonton and Saskatoon, which reached a combined 900 participants this year. Organizers plan to expand the race to Calgary in 2026.
“It is a fantastic event. I got a cool free shirt, and the weather was lovely, and it was just really nice to be part of something,” said Sharon Weber, one of this year’s participants. “Going forward, we need to really work together with different groups and try to pull the best out of our cultures and to really support Indigenous people.”
