One day in 1973, a little girl named Phyllis Webstad from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation began her first day at St. Joseph’s Residential School in Williams Lake, British Colombia, Canada. She proudly wore an orange shirt her granny gave her for this special day. Soon after she arrived at school, that shirt was removed from her. Forty years later, September 30th, 2013, she publicly shared her story for the first time and Orange Shirt Day was birthed.
Sadly, in May of this year, with the use of ground-penetrating radar, 215 unmarked graves were discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Since then, over eighteen hundred unmarked graves have been found; children who died in Canadian residential schools.
Phyllis Webstad most likely never guessed the significance of what she began the day she nervously shared her story. Her voice is now the voice of over eighteen hundred children and the Orange Shirt Day has become Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Government of Canada has legislated every September 30th as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The passing of Bill C-5 follows the 2015 TRC recommendation that Orange Shirt Day be formally recognized as a federal statutory holiday.
This day is set aside for listening deeply and holding space for the stories of the survivors. We are to reflect on changes needed to elevate the voices of our First Nations, Metis, and Inuit neighbors.
Take time on September 30th to watch CBC’s commercial-free programming honouring stories of survivors. You can listen to Phyllis Webstad at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3vUqr01kAk
And, if you do decide to purchase an orange shirt, please do so from an Indigenous designer that gives proceeds to survivors and reconciliation work. The photo with this BLOG is of a t-shirt purchased from M’Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre in Owen Sound and was designed locally.
May we live the commitment of equality for all,
Rev. Heather McCarrel
Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century 