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Project 57 Week 35: Orange Shirt Day & the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30th)
Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grass-roots movement started by Phyllis Webstad from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation to acknowledge the harms inflicted on Indigenous peoples through the residential school system (Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre). Phyllis is a residential school survivor. On the first day, her orange shirt was stolen from her as the residential school system denied her individuality and culture and she was never able to wear it again (Phyllis Webstad). Orange Shirt Day honors the children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as their families and communities who continue to be impacted by the residential school system. Every year on September 30th, we wear orange to bring awareness to the harmful effects of the residential school system, the impact of intergenerational trauma, and to show support for every child because every child matters. We wear orange to symbolize the erasure of “culture, freedom, and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations” (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Government of Canada). We wear orange to demonstrate and promote the concept that “Every Child Matters” because, even today, because systems of oppression continue. As stated succinctly by Erin Hanson:
On July 20, 2021, the Government of Canada declared September 30th the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Each year, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on September 30th.
For additional information please check out the following resources:
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS)
- Orange Shirt Society
- Orange Shirt Day founder, Phyllis Webstad, 2 minute video.
- Musqueam Acknowledges Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Wilson, O. (2021, September 30). Musqueam.
- Teaching about Residential Schools, SFU Library
- Every child matters: Orange Shirt Day, SFU Library
The Decolonizing the Library Working Group invites everyone to learn alongside us with Project 57. This project is a response to the TRC Call to Action 57, which calls on "federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples."
For more information visit Indigenous Initiatives.