The color orange was chosen because of something that happened to Phyllis Webstad when she was only six years old. It was September 30, 1973 — the first day she attended St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia.
Her grandmother had bought Webstad a brand-new, shiny orange shirt to wear, adding to the young student’s first-day-of-school excitement. “I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me; it was mine!” Webstad recalls. The color orange has always reminded her of that moment — how her feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared, and how she felt like she was worth nothing.
“All of us little children were crying, and no one cared,” she said. Webstad never forgot that loss, a hurt that stayed with her heart for years.
In 2013, Webstad was invited to return to St. Joseph’s as an Indian residential school survivor. She convinced other survivors to buy orange t-shirts as a way to remember those who attended residential schools in Canada. This inspired the formation of the Orange Shirt Society.
“Wearing orange shirts is a symbol of defiance against those things that undermine children’s self-esteem, and of our commitment to anti-racism and anti-bullying in general,” Webstad explains.
But the Orange Shirt Society is not solely about defiance. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools, and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations of children.
September 30 was chosen as the primary day of remembrance because it is around the time of year when Indigenous children were taken from their homes and sent to residential schools. It is also an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year, Webstad says.
Since 2013, Orange Shirt Day has grown into days of reflection throughout Canada and the United States. The color orange has become a symbol embraced by women jingle dress dancers and many Indigenous communities.
Today, Orange Shirt Day carries an even more serious tone, following the devastating revelation in late May that the remains of 215 children were discovered in a mass grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Since then, thousands of other bodies have been found at residential schools across Canada.
The phrase “Every Child Matters” has become a powerful mantra seen on t-shirts and rally signs. In 2021, Canada celebrated Truth and Reconciliation Day for the first time on September 30. Yet, to many, September 30 will always be known as Orange Shirt Day — a day that stands as a testament to the difference Phyllis Webstad made in creating an Indigenous movement.
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