On Wednesday, September 30, schools all across Canada celebrated ‘Orange Shirt Day.’ It is a day where students are asked to wear an orange shirt to school and they reflect on an important time in Canadian history. What does this day mean to the country and all the youth in schools? Phyllis Webstad is the one who started the movement and she is always proud to share her story.
According to CBC, Phyllis was born on Dog Creek Reserve and is Northern Secwepemc from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation. She is the author of the book Phyllis’s Orange Shirt and it tells the story of how she had her favorite orange shirt taken from her on her first day at a residential school.
Residential schools were religious schools that were run by the Canadian government. They took Indigenous children and “assimilated” them into Euro-Canadian culture. It is estimated that 150,000 Indigenous children attended these schools, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. While the schools have since shut down, the awareness of what happened has not been forgotten.
Orange Shirt Day is the day where the country reflects on this time and the treatment of First Nations people in Canada. Phyllis states that in 1973, her grandmother took her shopping to buy something to wear, and she picked out a bright orange shirt. She said since she was so young, she was excited to be going to school because she didn’t know any better.
When she got to the school, everything changed when she realized she would not be going back home. She said that her shirt was immediately taken away and they would not give it back. “I never got to wear my shirt again.”
She explained some of the horrors that she experienced within the residential schools. She said that she was there for a year, and there was never any assurance. No one was giving out hug when you were crying, you were just there, and they provided you food and that was it. She says that she is honored that her story was chosen to be the one that prompted Orange Shirt Day across the country.
She said that she often wonders why her story was the one chosen to represent this movement, but she also understands why her story was chosen. She said that the movement was chosen as the next step in reconciliation, a time when Canadians are all wondering what the next step will be.
Sources: CBC, The Canadian Encyclopedia