Honoring Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

By Monique Cotton, September 27th, 2024

CONTENT WARNING: Residential School and Related Traumas

JFK Law will be closed on Monday, September 30, to recognize Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We close our offices on this somber day to recognize the harms that the residential school system inflicted on Indigenous children, families, and communities, and to raise awareness about the residential school system and the ongoing traumas that stem from this system. We take this day to acknowledge and honour Survivors. We give space to our team – some of whom may be honouring family and community members, and others who will be reflecting on how we can advance Indigenous rights and contribute, personally and professionally, to efforts to remedy ongoing harms to Indigenous peoples.

Orange Shirt Day is named after the story of Phyllis Webstad, who is Northern Secwpemc from Stswecem’c Xgat’tem. Phyllis’ grandmother bought her a new outfit to attend the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC. Phyllis said that she picked out a shiny orange shirt that was “so bright and exciting – just like I felt to be going to school!” In 1973, on her first day at the Mission School, school staff stripped Phyllis and took away her clothes, including her new orange shirt, never to be seen again. Phyllis says that “the color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”

The federal government and religious orders operated 139 residential schools across Canada from 1831 to 1996. These institutions existed in every province and territory. For more than 100 years, Indigenous children as young as 4 years old were forcibly removed from their families and communities, prohibited from speaking their own language and practicing their culture, and were sexually, physically, and emotionally abused. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified 3200 student deaths at residential schools, but also heard from Survivors that many more children went to school and never returned, meaning that number could be much higher. Over the past year, mass numbers of unmarked graves at former residential school sites have been uncovered across the country and communities continue to work to identify and uncover the stories of those lost.

Orange Shirt Day is now recognized as a statutory holiday by the federal government and the BC government. This is a response to TRC Call to Action 80, which states that the federal government will work with Indigenous people to establish a statutory holiday to “honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process”.

Not just on Orange Shirt Day, but every day, we strongly encourage everyone to read, support and, critically, find ways to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the MMIWG Inquiry’s Calls for Justice, and the many other reports and calls for change in Canada with the objective of achieving better recognition of Indigenous rights and self-determination. The Athabasca Tribal Council has created an excellent online resource, including guidance on shaping one’s own path to reconciliation here: www.orangepath.ca

Orange Shirt Day is a somber day and reflecting on the residential school system can be traumatic. Should you need support, here are some resources to consider:

Indian Residential School Survivors Society Crisis Line: 24 hour crisis line for survivors and family of survivors. Toll-free: 1-866-925-4419.
First Nations Health Authority Mental Health Benefits: FNHA partners with Indigenous Services Canada to offer a comprehensive mental health plan to First Nations in BC. The plan covers counselling services from a qualified mental health provider, including psychologists, clinical counsellors and social workers. Even if you do not have status, you may be eligible for mental health support.
The KUU-US Crisis Line Society: 24 hour provincial Indigenous crisis line for Adults, Elders, and Youth. Toll-free: 1-800-588-8717.

Where to Purchase an Orange Shirt?

It is good to show your solidarity for Every Child Matters, but also important to ensure that you’re purchasing from an Indigenous artist, or business, or that all the proceeds from the sales are going back to an Indigenous organization or community.