Thousands of youth will be clad in orange shirts in Canadian schools on September 30 as the country recognizes the sacrifices of residential school survivors in this year’s Orange Shirt Day. 

Generations of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were stripped from their homes, families, and communities and sent to institutions for a Eurocentric education. Those young people were denied their own language, dress, and critical connections with their parents and extended families in the name of assimilation. From the introduction of “day schools” in an 1884 amendment to the Indian Act to the closure of the last government-operated residential school on Gordon’s First Nation near Punnichy in 1996, residential schools have been a dark spot in Canadian history.

Lester Gardiner is the principal of Punnichy Elementary School. His is one of the schools in the Horizon School Division honouring those impacted by residential schools. In addition to the recognizable orange shirts, the school is hosting a pancake breakfast along with visits by elders and a traditional round dance. The event is supported by Raymore Credit Union and its orange garbed mascot, Fat Cat, and Lynn Nagy, a counsellor from Quinton. Gardiner knows that the day and its trappings are all important in acknowledging the legacy of residential schools. 

“Approximately 150,000 Metis, Inuit, and First Nations children were sent in the 1860s to the 1990s. The schools harmed the children by removing them from their families, forcing them to speak English or French instead of their ancestral language whether it be Cree, Dakotah, Nakota, Mechief. They were also forced to adopt Christianity in order to assimilate into Canadian society.”

Over the years, the recognition of the harm done at the hands of residential schools culminated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the ultimate publication of its findings. Schools and school systems began to adopt measures to support Truth and Reconciliation which included a re-engagement of youth with their cultures and languages. These are measures that Kevin Garinger, Director of Education for the Horizon School Division, and the school board and systems have taken to heart. 

Garinger explains, “Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day is something that our schools and all of us across the province and country respond to. It says that we stand behind the need to recognize those who have gone through the atrocities of residential schools. It ultimately shows that we stand behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and everything that describes who we are as Treaty people.” 

Lester Gardiner explains the significance of the orange shirt by retelling the story of Phyllis Webstadt who was sent to the St. Joseph Indian Residential School near Williams Lake, BC.

“When Phyllis went to that school, they had taken away a new orange shirt that had just been given to her by her grandma. So for her, it said that she was worth nothing. All the little children who were there were crying, but nobody cared. It started from her, and the movement has been growing ever since in terms of how schools are becoming more culturally responsive in addressing the needs of our students.”

Phyllis Webstadt recounts the story herself on http://www.orangeshirtday.org/

Punnichy Elementary is just one of the schools honouring both the survivors and those who were lost as a result of residential schools. Kevin Garinger notes there are elders speaking in various schools and that cultural opportunities are happening throughout schools on a regular basis. He commends the leadership within the schools when it comes to supporting Truth and Reconciliation initiatives and is pleased to be backed by a Board of Education that sees the need for youth to all respond as Treaty People.

“We have four of our First Nation partners represented on our board, but all fourteen of our trustees are passionate about ensuring that we support cultures, in particular, our First Nation cultures, and ultimately that our kids are involved in this work. Recognizing Orange Shirt Day is just a part of that.”

Orange Shirt Day is not only a part of schools, but the apparel emblazoned with the phrase “Every Child Matters” can be seen in workplaces and institutions across Canada.