Content warning: This article discusses the trauma of residential schools, which may be distressing to some readers.
Orange shirts will soon fill the streets of Squamish at Winnipeg Street and Cleveland Avenue on Sept. 30 as the community commemorates the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
This year, again, the community is coming together to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential schools and reflect on the deep and lasting impacts of these institutions. The commemoration is scheduled to take place from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, was established as a federal holiday in 2021.
It commemorates the painful history of Canada’s residential school system, where over 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, stripped of their cultural identities, and many were subjected to abuse. Thousands of these children died due to neglect, malnutrition, and mistreatment, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identifying at least 4,100 deaths, though the true number may be higher.
In Squamish, the day holds special significance as the community honours survivors and celebrates the resilience of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), who have endured historical trauma and now lead efforts to revitalize their cultural heritage. A stark reminder of this painful history is St. Paul’s Indian Residential School in North Vancouver.
Built in 1899, the school became infamous for overcrowding, disease outbreaks, and poor nutrition, before it was condemned and closed in 1959.
The TRC’s 94 Calls to Action emphasize the ongoing need for reconciliation, with only 13 fully implemented as of 2023. These include crucial areas such as child welfare, education, and health, which continue to lag behind.
The exploitative half-day system
The facts of day-to-day life in residential schools may still not be well understood by some. Many residential schools operated under a half-day system where students spent part of their day in the classroom and the other part doing manual labour. Boys worked in fields and carpentry, while girls were assigned domestic duties. These roles reduced operational costs rather than providing useful vocational skills, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Resistance and Resilience
Despite these efforts to erase their culture, many Indigenous children found ways to resist—speaking their languages in secret or continuing cultural practices whenever possible. Sadly, many who tried to escape the oppressive conditions never made it home. One such case was Bernard Andreason, who fled Stringer Hall in the Northwest Territories in 1972. Out of the three boys who attempted to escape, Andreason was the only survivor, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
The Symbolism of the Orange Shirt
The orange shirt, now a symbol of Truth and Reconciliation Day, comes from Phyllis Webstad’s story. On her first day at a residential school, her new orange shirt was taken away, symbolizing the loss of identity and culture experienced by thousands of Indigenous children.
Orange Shirt Day began in 2013 to honour the lasting impact of the residential school system on Indigenous communities, symbolized by Webstad’s orange shirt. In 2021, it became the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, following the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
Today, wearing orange on Sept. 30 shows solidarity with survivors and acknowledges the injustices of the past.
If this article or the day itself is distressing for survivors or their families, there’s a 24-hour phone line set up by The Indian Residential School Survivors Society at 1-800-721-0066 or 1-866-925-4419. You can also view other services the society has at irsss.ca.
Bhagyashree Chatterjee is The Squamish Chief’s Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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