According to the Orange Shirt Day website,
“Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School (1891-1981) Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, Canada, in May 2013. This project was the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who is a former student himself. It brought together former students and their families from the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in, Southern Dakelh and St’at’imc Nations along with the Cariboo Regional District, the Mayors and municipalities, School Districts and civic organizations in the Cariboo Region.”
Phyllis (Jack) Webstad told her story of her orange shirt her grandma bought her being taken away, never to be seen again, on the first day of Residential School.
Learn more on the Orange Shirt Day website.
This year, marks ten years since this took place and began a nationwide movement towards Truth and Reconciliation.
In 2019, the day was acknowledged across Canada as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Morden’s Truth and Action Working Group (TAWG) held a ceremony at the Access Event Centre September 30th, to give a voice to Indigenous people. The day was a time to share their truth and to raise a flag to commemorate the lives lost at residential schools, for survivors who came home filled with experiences of abuse, and for those who came after them, who never heard the words, “I love you” and lived with the generational effects of the genocide and trauma in the many years that followed.
The Meekis family opened the ceremony with Land Acknowledgements in 3 languages. Albert in Ojibway, his son Caleb in English and Albert’s wife Trish in French.
Keith Henry’s mother shared her story of survival and Keith drummed and sang while the “Every Child Matters” flag was slowly raised by the family.
Roseau River First Nation Knowledge Keeper Peter Atkinson shared his story as a residential school survivor. He was taken from his family at age 5 and recalls the many stories of abuse from his older brothers and other students in the school with him.
TAWG members Tammy Hendrix and Nikkie Nelson introduced a song, “215 and counting” by Jordan Hart brought on a very somber moment as all those who attended took time to recognize the painful truths still being uncovered across the country.
A walk in commemoration of TRC Day took people around the area block and back to the AEC building for a bannock and hotdog lunch. People around the tables were sharing their own heritage, experiences of discovering their own past and sharing the many ways they are working on reconciliation in their own families and communities.
Knowledge Keeper Peter Atkinson said the word ‘reconciliation’ acknowledges something wrong has been done to someone and challenged people to do more than talk about it but to put their words into action and to do something about it.
The 94 Calls to Action were formed from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and are for all treaty people.