Orange Shirt Day is held every year on September 30 to honour the healing journey of residential school survivors, but this year is the first National Day of Truth & Reconciliation in Canada. Today, we learn about our painful history, bring awareness for the need for reconciliation, and reflect about how we respect the indigenous.
I created a Instagram reel to commemorate Canada’s first day of Truth & Reconciliation, which you can check out here.
The original Orange Shirt Day evolved out of a project in B.C. The significance of the orange shirt is told in the story of former B.C. residential school student Phyllis Webstad. She related how on her first day at residential school a new orange shirt bought by her grandmother was taken from her when she was six years old.
Here’s an excerpt that tells Phyllis’s story:
I went to the Mission for one school year in 1973/1974. I had just turned 6 years old. I lived with my grandmother on the Dog Creek reserve. We never had very much money, and there was no welfare, but somehow my granny managed to buy me a new outfit to go to the Mission school. I remember going to Robinson’s store and picking out a shiny orange shirt. It had string laced up in front, and was so bright and exciting – just like I felt to be going to school!
When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt! I never saw it again. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine! The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.
I was 13.8 years old and in grade 8 when my son Jeremy was born. Because my grandmother and mother both attended residential school for 10 years each, I never knew what a parent was supposed to be like. With the help of my aunt, Agness Jack, I was able to raise my son and have him know me as his mother.
I went to a treatment centre for healing when I was 27 and have been on this healing journey since then. I finally get it, that the feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my first day at the mission, affected the way I lived my life for many years. Even now, when I know nothing could be further than the truth, I still sometimes feel that I don’t matter. Even with all the work I’ve done!
I am honored to be able to tell my story so that others may benefit and understand, and maybe other survivors will feel comfortable enough to share their stories.