Why Orange Shirt Day Is So Different This Year

Orange Shirt Day is going to be different this year.

September 30th feels especially different for me as the son of an Indian Residential School survivor and as a helper in Winnipeg’s inner city where there are many IRS survivors. Many of these senior citizens are struggling with housing, access to quality health care, connecting with their family or connecting with their language and culture. You call them “homeless” or “addicted” but we call them our relatives - because we define people by what they have, a family, relatives like us, instead of by what they don’t have. If you don’t know about Orange Shirt Day and why it’s called that, you can listen to Phyllis Webstad’s story by watching this video and you can click here for more information from the news.

Orange Shirt Day is going to be different because it will be the first Sept 30th and Orange Shirt Day since 215 children were discovered in Kamloops at the site of the former Indian Residential School. Since then there have been many more discoveries, each one eliciting less and less of a reaction from media and the general Canadian public. I know the survivors and their families are impacted every single time, their hearts break every single time - why have others become so numb so quickly?

Orange Shirt Day will be different because it is the first year since the federal government has proclaimed it as a national holiday, encouraging provinces to do the same. This means that many students and educators will have the day off. While I appreciate the national recognition, in practice, we now have lost an opportunity to use our public education system as a means to educate on that day. No more assemblies or listening to survivors during class time. I am nervous that this day will mean that those who aren’t personally affected by Indian Residential Schools will see this as a day off and nothing more with most of the work required to do the story telling the educating, the organizing, the systems changing will fall again to survivors and their families. I am only in support of it if those students, educators and all of us in the general public use that day to take action on reconciliation and justice in our communities. I am only OK with it if non affected people take action to educate their own families and communities. I want to shout out this initiative from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation called Truth and Reconciliation Week, which extends the conversation over many days and has resources and info for teachers.

Orange shirt day is going to be different because it will be the first year for me after the loss of my birth mother, herself an Ininew language speaker and a survivor of those schools. We had to wait 8 days to get her body because of how backed up the coroners office was. We will have to wait for up to 8 months to hear back from toxicology so we can know the cause of death. I went to Shamattawa for her funeral and burial and saw the impact of IRS in many families on my reserve. I am mourning the relationship we did not have and what will now not be possible. I want to encourage all of you to overcome the family disagreements and difficulties you carry wherever possible too. Let’s reach out to our loved ones while they are still here.

Orange Shirt Day is going to be different this year because of how the topic was used as a political football during the recent election. Seemingly only mentioned when it was for political advantage of this party or that one, the reactions of leaders taking up more oxygen in news cycles than the next discovery of unmarked mass graves. How are survivors and their families supposed to feel about being used as a weapon? Everyone keeps pointing to the same five calls to action (71-76) but those were published in 2015 and haven’t been done yet. It is hard to believe the promises that things will really happen this time.

Orange shirt is going to be different this year because of the vast amounts of Indigenous led actions and solidarity actions are happening. The fasts, the walks, the campaigns, the many actions happening in support of o Every Child Matters are inspiring to see. There are many opportunities to follow the lead of these actions and centre the voices of survivors in whatever you choose to do on that day.

Orange Shirt Day will be different this year because of the t shirts themselves. There have been many, many non-Indigenous organizations selling orange t shirts and have not made it clear whether or not they will be donating the proceeds of those shirts to IRS survivors or other related causes or organizations. I want to encourage all of you to support Indigenous businesses and creators this year and ensuring that proceeds from your purchase of orange clothing is benefiting the Indigenous community and especially survivors. If you want a place to start, Indigenous Vision for the North End has created this helpful list of places you can go.

Orange Shirt Day will be different this year, what are you going to do to make a difference?