Orange Shirt Day

Here in Canada it's Orange Shirt Day today, in memory of all the indigenous children who were forced to go away to residential schools for nearly 100 years.

In 1960 Phyllis Webstad was a young 6 year old, living on the Dog Creek reserve in northern B.C.  She was excited to be going to school for the first time, and her grandmother had scrimped and saved to buy her a bright orange shirt to wear.  But when she arrived at school, as in all the residential schools apparently, the children were all stripped, bathed, and de-liced.  Their clothes were burned.  She never saw her orange shirt again.  (This was when I was still in public school!)

When Phyllis told her story 21 years later, the image of the orange shirt caught on, just as Canadians were becoming aware of the terrible legacy of the residential schools, mostly run by Canadian churches, especially the Catholic church.  The result was 'Orange Shirt Day', in memory of the children.  Now it's officially known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The slogan 'Every Child Matters' has become popular, as have various commemorative designs.  This is one of my favourite.

This flag is currently flying on an indigenous fishing tug down in the Meaford harbour, along with the Anishinaabe First Nations People flag from the community I remember as 'Cape Croker'.  Now it's correctly known as Neyaashiinigmiig (which rolls off your tongue once you get used to it).

There were an astonishing number of deaths among children at residential schools, most from tuberculosis.  Most of those who died were buried in unmarked graves; parents were not even notified.  When 215 suspected unmarked graves were discovered at the Kamloops school in 2021, the Canadian public was shocked.  Since then Orange Shirt Day has been treated a little more seriously.