Today we honor those who attended Residential Schools throughout Canada and we acknowledge the truth of their experiences by commemorating and raising awareness of the Orange Shirt day movement which is on September 30th every year. 1
Learning about the legacy of the Residential schools, its survivors and the memory of those children who did not survive, it felt important to understand and learn about the origins of how the Orange Shirt movement began. On Sept 25th, 2020, ReconciliAction YEG attended a live facebook event where Phyllis Webstad (co-founder of the Orange Shirt Day movement) told her story and gave us a glimpse into a past that has shaped our present and will most certainly influence our future. 2
Phyllis Webstad is a 3rd generation residential school survivor. Her parents and grandparents both endured 10 years each of the stark and brutal living conditions at the St. Joseph's Mission Indian Residential School, located 20 minutes past Williams Lake, B.C. Phyllis spent a year at St. Joseph’s Mission from 1973-74, long enough to understand what she called, “pee your pants terror” and why her granny who raised her, was not ever able to show love and affection. Phyllis’s own son years later would sadly attend Gordon Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan before its closure in 1996. It was the last federally funded residential school to close,3 making it four generations who attended residential school in her family.
Figure 1 Gordon Residential School, Pinnichy, Saskatchewan, ca 1946 ACC MSCC/S7-P75-103/ photo credit https://www2.uregina.ca/education/saskindianresidentialschools/gordons-indian-residential-school/
The Canadian government had made it mandatory for every First Nations child between 7 and 16 years of age to attend residential schools in April of 1920.4
At 6 years old Phyllis was old enough to attend residential school. Her granny, in preparation of that departure, took her on a rare trip into town to buy a new shirt for her first day at the “Mission”. What caught her eye was a “shiny orange shirt”, it was bright and made her excited. She wore it proudly to attend the residential school that she described as both “intimidating and scary”. Once she arrived at the school any feelings of excitement in seeing her cousins quickly dissipated when her hair was cut and she was made to strip out of her clothes. It was especially hard giving up her orange shirt, yet she had no choice, her feelings did not matter sadly no one’s did, and the shirt was never given back. Donning communal clothing, all ties to her identity and culture were ripped away like a cruel joke.
“Felt like grownups were playing a cruel joke on them” - Phyllis Webstad
At the “Mission”, there was no hugging, no touching (at least not in a good way), no looking at each other and family members of the opposite gender were never allowed to speak to one another. Everyone would cry quietly every night. Phyllis said when siblings were especially lonely they would go to what they referred to as “the invisible line” outside and walk up and down far enough away from each other so no one would notice because that was the only way they could visit.
She also talked about how granny always distanced herself from children as they got older, (all 10 of her children had attended residential schools).She would show love and affection to babies, but as soon as they reached 5, she grew more distant. Granny had been preparing them all for an environment where they did not matter. It was a place where she knew none of them would matter and where the phrase, “Every child matters” originated.5
If reconciliation first begins with telling the truth, then the next most meaningful thing we can do is listen to the stories from survivors and remember those who did not survive, because every child deserves to be remembered and every child matters.
Today please consider wearing an orange shirt to show your support. Thank you for reading.
Until next time ReconciliAction YEG
A word from the President of the Indigenous Law Students Association, University of Alberta: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=354798429098801
[1] Orange Shirt Society, “September 30” online: Orange Shirt Day </www.orangeshirtday.org/>. [Orange Shirt Society]
[2] Medicine Wheel Education, “Thank you to everyone who joined us live for the Orange Shirt Day online classroom….” (16 September 2020) posted on Medicine Wheel Education, online: Facebook: <www.facebook.com/medicinewheeleducation/videos/1317463278595862>.
[4]The Canadian Encyclopedia, “Residential Schools” online: Timeline <www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/residential-schools>.
[5] Orange Shirt Society, supra note 1, Phylis Story <www.orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story.html>.
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