The origins of Orange Shirt Day
First held in Williams’ Lake, B.C. in May of 2013, Orange Shirt Day is an event that recognizes the harm done to children’s sense of self-esteem and wellbeing as a result of the residential school system.
The event grew out of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad’s story about her experience at a residential school in 1973, when she was just six years old. She shares the story of the original orange shirt on the Orange Shirt Day website.
Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons
“We never had very much money, but somehow my granny managed to buy me a new outfit to go to the Mission school,” Webstad said. “When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt!”
In support of the symbol for the national event, Webstad said: “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.”
Today, Webstad’s story has become a movement. Wearing an orange shirt on Sept. 30 is one way to honour and remember all those who were stripped of their cultural identity and individuality during this dark period of Canada’s history while acknowledging that healing is ongoing.
In 2017, Jane Philpott, Canada’s minister of Indigenous services, urged Canadians to wear orange on Sept. 30 to continue an annual tradition of recognizing Canada’s history with residential schools.
U of G professor Brittany Luby talks Orange Shirt Day
The Ontarion spoke to U of G history professor Brittany Luby about Orange Shirt Day. Luby identifies as part of the Anishinaabe and Ochiichagwe’Babigo’Ining Ojibway Nation; her work explores writing as a tool for reconciliation.
Photo by Tenille Campbell
Jude Keefe: What is the purpose of Orange Shirt Day?
Brittany Luby: Wearing an orange shirt on Sept. 30 demonstrates an awareness of Canada’s residential school legacy. It is a symbolic reminder that Canada worked, systematically, to eradicate Indigenous cultures and to impose Anglo-Canadian norms on Indigenous youth. Its symbolic function becomes clear when you learn the history behind Orange Shirt Day. In the 1970s, administrators stripped Phyllis Webstad of her orange shirt, a prized possession, on arrival at residential school. Federally-funded employees took Phyllis’ clothing. They also tried to take her culture and her language.
JK: What is the significance of Orange Shirt Day?
BL: Phyllis survived and she never forgot where she came from. For this reason, wearing an orange shirt on Sept. 30 is also a sign of Indigenous strength. It says, “Indigenous nations survived. We are holding Canada accountable for past wrongs. And, we want Canadians to see that reconciliation requires ongoing healing work.”
JK: Do you think Orange Shirt Day should be promoted throughout the University?
BL: Yes, absolutely. Post-secondary education is a privilege. Choosing your courses, selecting a degree program — these are all privileges that Indigenous youth were denied by the federal government for over a hundred years. I think Orange Shirt Day is an important time for reflection. It shines a light on state violence and educational inequity in Canada. It is a reminder that we must do better for the next generation of learners — empowering them to be mindful of their treaty partners and critical of federal policies that compromise Indigenous sovereignty.
Ford slashes funding for updated curricula, Indigenous histories ignored once again
In 2008, residential schools made headlines following Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s formal apology to survivors and all Indigenous people. However, in this apology, Harper failed to acknowledge the Innu, Inuit, and NunatuKavut people of Newfoundland and Labrador and the five residential schools that operated in the province. There was no responsibility taken for the residential schools that were provincially run.
The federal government believed that since these schools were put in place before Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation, there was no need to attempt to make amends with the survivors of those five schools. This led to a class-action lawsuit, and the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau agreed to pay $50 million to Indigenous survivors that were left out of Harper’s apology and the accompanying settlement back in 2008.
In Goose Bay, Trudeau attempted to make up for the previous government’s omission by stating, “We share this burden with you by fully accepting our responsibilities — and our failings — as a government and as a country.”
Events such as Trudeau’s apology and Orange Shirt Day are powerful, but as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) informs Canadians, the actions required must take place daily in order to battle the systemic racism that continues to impact the Indigenous peoples in Canada. Such actions involve territorial acknowledgements of Indigenous territories, engagement of local knowledge holders, and honouring of land rights in Canada when planning new developments.
U of G graduate student Alisa Nyugen participated in a class trip to the Woodland Cultural Centre museum on Sept. 21, and said the experience reiterated the importance of preserving evidence.
“There are only a few remaining residential schools [which are closed but still standing] and if they are destroyed, removed, and then forgotten, so too are the stories,” said Nyugen. “It’s a chapter in our history that we can all learn from. First we need to learn the truth, then get onto the reconciliation part.”
Unfortunately, under the authority and direction of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the current public education system is threatened by an outright refusal to share and teach information about Indigenous people. By limiting the work of the TRC through cuts to funding, decreased access to education, and misplaced priorities in policy-making, the problem of young Canadians being unaware of the impact of residential schools is only exasperated. It is a gross failure of the government to deny the general population the basic education needed to understand the history of those from whom this land was taken, the history of those who survived what is tantamount to genocide.
Today, failing to teach the history of residential schools is a sad continuation of the erasure of Indigenous experiences and culture in Canada. The TRC recommends that the national community familiarize itself with the 94 recommendations for personal action to express reconciliation in daily life. These recommendations are available in the official TRC and National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) document, available on nctr.ca/reports, alongside many other detailed reports on the issue.
Found on Anishinabek.ca: If this information causes any crisis or distress, call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419
The Ontarion would like to thank Cara Wehkamp, special adviser to the provost on Aboriginal initiatives at U of G, for her time in looking over this article.
Local Orange Shirt Day events
U of G is recognizing Orange Shirt Day on Friday, Sept. 28 because Sept. 30 falls on Sunday this year. The Aboriginal Resource Centre invites all students, staff, faculty, and visitors to show respect for survivors of the residential school system by wearing an orange item of clothing on that day, and if you choose, throughout the weekend to Sept. 30.
In Guelph region, the Woodland Cultural Centre is hosting a Survivors Gathering on Sept. 29 and 30 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; their website explains that, as the site of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School, the significance of attaching positive memories of reconciliation here will support healing for those involved.
Maps & Graphics by Jude Keefe