Sept. 30th was first observed in 2021 as a federal statutory holiday. It was in Call to Action #80, which states: “ We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with aboriginal peoples, to establish, as has statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honor Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains A vital component of the reconciliation process.”
Previously, September 30th had been known as Orange Shirt Day which began in 2013 when Phyllis (Jack) Webstad told her story of her first day at St. Joseph Mission Residential School when her shiny new orange shirt bought by her grandmother was taken from her as a six-year-old girl.
Webstad is a residential school Survivor and founder of Orange Shirt Day. She currently serves as ambassador for the Orange Shirt Society. It was in 2013 when she first told the story of how her new orange shirt, a gift from her grandmother, was taken from her on her first day at residential school.
Today, people across Canada and, increasingly in the United States and beyond, wear orange shirts to acknowledge the horrific truths of the genocide committed through the country’s residential school system. But it all began as the childhood experience of Phyllis Webstad of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem (Canoe Creek Dog Creek) First Nation. By sharing her own personal story, she spoke for thousands of Survivors and those who never made it home. (https://orangeshirtday.org/about/phyllis-story/)
Since then and thanks largely to Webstad’s efforts, which have included publishing five children’s books, the orange shirt has become a symbol of Truth and Reconciliation, a visible reminder of the residential school system along with the message that “Every Child Matters.”
The educational movement highlighted by her story led to Sept. 30 being recognized as Orange Shirt Day, and eventually to the federal government establishing that day as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It became a statutory holiday in B.C. in 2023.
Phyllis Webstad’s contributions are foundational to the public awareness and understanding of the history of Canada and its evolving relationship with Indigenous Peoples. Her work to bring about this level of public awareness is monumental and has created a movement towards respect, safety, and justice for all people in Canada and beyond.
Do you have an orange shirt for September 30? Even wearing an orange ribbon can be a meaningful gesture.
By wearing orange, we say:
We remember.
We acknowledge the truth.
We honour survivors and their families.
We commit ourselves to reconciliation.
-Sister Kathleen Lichti, CSJ