Phyllis Webstad was only six years old when her grandmother — using the small amount of money they had — bought her a new outfit for her first day of school: a bright orange shirt.
But when she got to school on Sept. 30, 1973, teachers and administrators forced her to strip off her clothes, including the orange shirt, which quickly became the residential school’s property. She never wore it again.
Phyllis Webstad, Photo by Orange Shirt Society
Webstad, from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, attended a school within the Canadian residential school system, which operated from the 1880s into the closing decades of the 20th century. The system forcibly separated children from their families for extended periods of time and forbade them to acknowledge their Indigenous heritage and culture or to speak their own languages.
“Orange always reminds me of that moment and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared, and how I felt like I was worth nothing,” Webstad shared with the Orange Shirt Society. “All of us little children were crying, and no one cared.”
Today, Webstad is an author and activist — and her orange shirt has become a symbol of hope, reconciliation, and a commitment to a better future.
In 2013, Webstad’s experience inspired the creation of Orange Shirt Day, observed on Sept. 30, as part of an effort to promote awareness and education of the Canadian residential school system and its impact on Indigenous communities. Two years later, the Orange Shirt Society was formed to continue raising awareness of the inter-generational impact of residential schools, support reconciliations, and promote the truth that “Every Child Matters.”
In 2021, the Canadian government elevated Orange Shirt Day as a federal holiday and named it “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.”
Adler University’s Vancouver Campus has and continues to recognize Orange Shirt Day, often with week-long programming to honor the resilience of the Indigenous community and provide access to experts working in reconciliation. This year is no different.
The Vancouver events are:
- Coffee for a Cause, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in Community Hall. Coffee for a Cause was started in 2017 as a way for student organizations to fundraise. This year’s fundraising efforts will support the Moose Hide Campaign, an Indigenous-led grassroots movement to end violence towards women and children.
- Distribution of Orange Shirts all day on Wednesday, Sept. 25, on the 2nd This year’s shirts feature a design from Squamish artist James Harry. All proceeds from the T-shirt benefit the Urban Native Youth Association and All My Relations Indigenous Society.
- Moose Hide Campaign Presentation Common Hour, noon-1 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Sept. 26 in Community Hall.
- Social Justice Practicum Symposium, 1:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, Sept. 27 in Community Hall. The Symposium will include opening remarks from Hereditary Chief Ian Campbell from the Squamish Nation.
For Brianna Savage, the Adler’s Social Justice Practicum program manager in Vancouver, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is personal. Savage, who is adopted, is Métis, one of the recognized Indigenous groups in Canada. Learning about her background later in life has inspired Savage to dive deep into her history, address intergenerational trauma, and encourage others — including Adler students — to do their part in truth and reconciliation.
In recognition of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Savage offers some insight on the significance of the day, the common misconceptions of the holiday, and some advice for others on how they can learn more about and support Indigenous communities — not just during Orange Shirt Day, but all year long.
What is the significance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
It’s an exciting moment for Canada to have these moments to pause and acknowledge these historical pieces that have shaped our country. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a day to recognize the colonial landscape, along with the pain and trauma caused by residential schools on our Indigenous communities. To have the federal government — which then trickles down to provincial governments — turn around and see the pains of the past means we’re aiming to do something better about it in the future.
We can do many things to address the impact of residential schools all year long, but at least for this day, it’s a moment to pause and pay attention.
How did the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation come about?
The Canadian parliament created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which put together 94 calls to action for all elements of our society. Recommendation #80 was to create a day commemorating the legacy of residential schools.
Like Remembrance Day or Veterans Day in the U.S., it’s not about remembering the atrocities of war but the courage of those who fought. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is about taking ownership of what happened in the residential schools and recognizing the survivors of these schools.
The only way to achieve reconciliation is to recognize that there is pain, there is trauma, and that things remain broken. Reconciliation can only begin by accepting and acknowledging the truth.
What is the biggest common misconception of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
Brianna Savage
Because it is a holiday, many of our government institutions are closed. A lot of people think it’s just another day to sleep in. With it falling on a Monday this year, some see it as another excuse to have a long weekend. I think that’s where the holiday’s intent can sometimes get lost.
However, this day was created through a grassroots movement with the Indigenous communities in mind. It’s meant for Canadians to find local events to learn more and celebrate our Indigenous communities and residents.
It’s important to remember that cultures and traditions were completely erased. Children couldn’t speak their language. They couldn’t wear their traditional clothing. And families could no longer participate in their centuries-old ceremonies. I encourage everyone to take the day as an opportunity to learn.
What does National Day for Truth and Reconciliation mean to you personally?
It really is of significant importance to me. I’m an individual with many identities. I’m a female-identifying queer person in Canada. I’m a mother. I’m adopted. And I’m a member of the Métis Nation.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been inspired to take a deeper dive into understanding my culture and reconnect with my ancestors. I want to learn more about the cultural practices I didn’t experience as a child because it’s important to me to bring that into my family and for my child.
And in my role at Adler, I try to remind people that the final residential school in Canada closed in 1996. That’s not that long ago. Some of our students were already crawling by then. It’s not ancient history. It’s very much still current events.
How can non-Indigenous Canadians and Americans support Indigenous communities on this day?
This is an easy one. Wear your orange shirt on Sept. 30. Don’t fear the orange. Yes, it can kind of feel like it’s casual corporate engagement, especially in Canada. You go to a big box store, and there they are, similar to seeing Pride-related clothes in June.
But because of Phyllis Webstad, her story, and the grassroots movement to create Orange Shirt Day, many of these stores are no longer making profit off these shirts. The proceeds go directly back to Indigenous funds and Indigenous communities. I’ve been very cautiously optimistic to see this level of corporate engagement.
If you want to go further, consider buying these shirts from local businesses that often hire Indigenous artists as designers. Many of these artists also sell these orange shirts online.
This may feel like armchair activism because putting on an orange shirt requires minimal effort, but you’re participating in something much bigger. This concept of “Every Child Matters” has turned into a recognition and recollection of all the children who never returned home, including those who lost their lives in residential schools. It almost feels like every six months, we find another former residential school site with unmarked graves.
Wearing orange also signals to survivors that you’re an ally, which can be uncomfortable sometimes. You don’t have to only wear your “Every Child Matters” orange shirt on Sept. 30. Add it to your outfit rotation and wear it proudly.
What resources can people use to educate themselves more about Indigenous history in Canada?
One of the podcasts that I love is called “Unreserved.” It’s a radio space for Indigenous voices, offering a quilt of stories from Indigenous persons from different backgrounds. It is also light listening because not every engagement needs to be heavy and guilt-inducing.
One of my favorite resources is the graphic novel anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold, which explores the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators. This responded to Canada’s so-called anniversary of 150 years as a nation. Our SJP students in Vancouver will recognize the book because it is now required for reading in the program. I’m a little biased, but it is a phenomenal resource and should be on everyone’s shelves.
Other suggestions are the podcasts Stolen, which investigates the disappearance of a young Indigenous mother named Jermain Charlo who left a bar in Missoula, Montana and Missing and Murdered: Finding Cleo, which scrutinizes the disappearance of a young Cree girl taken by child welfare workers in the 1970s and adopted in the U.S.
For literature, I recommend “Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City” by Tanya Talaga, “The Break” by Katherena Vermette, “Permanent Astonishment” by Tomson Highway; and “Medicine Walk” by Richard Wagamese.
For film and television, I recommend Reservation Dogs, Little Bird, True Detective: Night Country, Richard Cardinal: Cry from a Diary of a Métis Child, and Indian Horse, based on Wagamese’s book “Medicine Walk.”
We acknowledge that Adler University is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations. We also acknowledge that Adler University is near six Métis Chartered Communities, serving thousands of Métis through tradition and community.