To Reconcile: Orange Shirt Day

Lillian Mo (9) STAFF REPORTER

On October 1st, St. Robert CHS is participating in Orange Shirt Day organized by the NBE3C1 students to honour the many aboriginal children who were sent to residential schools. There will be drumming, signing of mini t-shirts, as well as student discussions taking place in the cafeteria during period 3. All students of St. Robert CHS are encouraged to wear an orange shirt with full uniform waist down.

Starting in the 1880s, thousands of aboriginal children were taken from their parents and brought to a terra nova with the intent of assimilation.

These schools often had cruel practices.  Students were not allowed to speak their native tongue and were forced to convert to Christianity.  They were even provided with new names.

Funding for these schools were tight, but even so, they continued to exist for many decades.  The last residential school closed down in 1996, not even 25 years ago.
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In recent years, there have been many initiatives to reconcile, including Orange Shirt Day.

Staff of University of PEI commemorating Orange Shirt Day.

The orange shirt comes from a third-generation residential school survivor, Phyllis Webstad.  Webstad’s grandmother had bought her a shiny new orange shirt for her first day at school; however, as soon as she arrived, the shirt was stripped away from her, never to be seen again.

Students all across Canada are encouraged to wear orange shirts in remembrance of both those who survived the residential schools and those who did not.  As Webstad said, “Every child matters, even if you’re an adult.”

This is just one of the many efforts in an attempt to reconcile with the aboriginal population of Canada.  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has released many calls to action, and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the aboriginal peoples in 2008.  However, there is still a long way to go as both a country and an individual.