By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

*Content warning: This article contains details about residential schools. Please read with care for your spirit.*

The residential school survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day B次元官网网址� and the Every Child Matters movement B次元官网网址� says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.

Phyllis Webstad, founder and CEO of the Orange Shirt Society, told IndigiB次元官网网址 sheB次元官网网址檚 noticed a growing number of public posters and government campaigns are instead focused on the recently adopted National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR).

In 2013, Orange Shirt Day was born after she shared her childhood story of her new orange shirt B次元官网网址� gifted to her by her grandma B次元官网网址� being taken from her at age six, on her first day at the St. JosephB次元官网网址檚 Mission in the early 1970s.

Orange shirts B次元官网网址� often bearing the motto Every Child Matters B次元官网网址� have become a symbol honouring children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as survivors of the colonial institutions.

For 11 years, Sept. 30 has been marked across the country as Orange Shirt Day.

WebstadB次元官网网址檚 story has contributed to the discourse around the history of colonialism in Canada B次元官网网址� particularly residential schools, where she recalls being B次元官网网址渟ick, hungry, tired, lonely, bawling my eyeballs outB次元官网网址� at age six.

B次元官网网址淔our-, five- and six-year-olds should not be comforting each other, and that was the case,B次元官网网址� Webstad, of StswecemB次元官网网址檆 XgatB次元官网网址檛em First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band), told IndigiB次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淚 felt like I did not matter.B次元官网网址�

In 2021, the Government of Canada officially recognized its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a statutory holiday coinciding with Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30 B次元官网网址� an annual day to reflect on the countryB次元官网网址檚 harmful, ongoing legacy of colonialism.

But despite the federal recognition, Webstad now worries people are forgetting about the purpose of the original annual event on that day. For instance, some posters and campaigns across the country only mention the statutory holiday B次元官网网址� leaving out or downplaying Orange Shirt Day almost entirely.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want Orange Shirt Day to be forgotten,B次元官网网址� the 57-year-old said. B次元官网网址淚t was started by a survivor. It needs to be respected B次元官网网址� I need to be respected B次元官网网址� and I donB次元官网网址檛 feel I have that.B次元官网网址�

She said she wishes campaigns around Sept. 30 would honour both Orange Shirt Day and NDTR in their messages.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not one or the other, itB次元官网网址檚 both,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淧eople think that itB次元官网网址檚 being replaced. Even (the Department of) Canadian Heritage, when they put out their call for proposals for monies for Sept. 30, there was no mention of Orange Shirt Day.B次元官网网址�

Canadian Heritage does not mention Orange Shirt Day on its funding program call-out for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, nor on its main homepage B次元官网网址� where it highlights the statutory holiday.

But the webpage for the Sept. 30 holiday itself acknowledges both events occur on the same day, stating that Orange Shirt Day is an B次元官网网址淚ndigenous-led grassroots commemorative day.B次元官网网址�

A spokesperson for the federal department told IndigiB次元官网网址 the holiday B次元官网网址渁ligns with and builds onB次元官网网址� the work Webstad and her organization have done for more than a decade.

B次元官网网址淲e encourage all Canadians to wear orange to honour the thousands of Survivors of residential schools,B次元官网网址� the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement Friday. B次元官网网址淭he orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.B次元官网网址�

Asked about why Canadian Heritage did not include Orange Shirt Day in this yearB次元官网网址檚 funding program application, the ministry said itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渋n the process of updating language to reflect Orange Shirt DayB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� vowing to make the change before the programB次元官网网址檚 launch in November.

WebstadB次元官网网址檚 concerns about Orange Shirt Day being downplayed donB次元官网网址檛 just apply to the federal government, however.

An Internet search for Orange Shirt Day on Google instead brings results displaying National Day for Truth and Reconciliation first, with only a small thumbnail-sized image of an orange shirt. But a similar search for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings results stating it is still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day. Other major search engines offered similar results favouring the official holiday over the ongoing eventB次元官网网址檚 origins.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim issued an official city proclamation ahead of the statutory holiday, but nowhere in the page-long document is Orange Shirt Day mentioned. (SimB次元官网网址檚 predecessor as mayor, Kennedy Stewart, equally did not reference Orange Shirt Day in his own 2022 proclamation).

Meanwhile, the B.C. governmentB次元官网网址檚 webpage for the NDTR statutory holiday encourages people to participate by B次元官网网址渨earing an orange shirt,B次元官网网址� but only mentions the occasionB次元官网网址檚 origins as Orange Shirt Day after eight paragraphs, nearly halfway down the text.

B次元官网网址�2024 marks the eleventh anniversary of Orange Shirt Day,B次元官网网址� the province notes, B次元官网网址渁n important opportunity to open up dialogue on anti-racism and anti-bullying.B次元官网网址�

For Webstad, as a survivor, the trend is becoming increasingly worrisome.

B次元官网网址淥ne day, there will be no survivors left in Canada,B次元官网网址� Webstad said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 want Orange Shirt Day to be, `What was that?B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�

She said she originally chose late September for Orange Shirt Day because itB次元官网网址檚 the time of year when Canada took hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children from their homes and families B次元官网网址� starting in the 1880s until the last residential school closed in the late 1990s.

The early fall date also lets teachers plan lessons about residential schools after settling into each new school year, she explained.

B次元官网网址淪eptember made sense,B次元官网网址� Webstad said, B次元官网网址渂ecause survivors do not like this time of the year.B次元官网网址�

In 2015, she founded the Orange Shirt Society as a non-profit, trademarking the phrase B次元官网网址淓very Child Matters.B次元官网网址�

The organization sells orange t-shirts and other merchandise, with funds and donations going towards its growing public awareness campaigns.

B次元官网网址淪urvivors are adults, Elders now,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut they were children when they were at these so-called `schoolsB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� they matter.B次元官网网址�

And the slogan Every Child Matters also honoured the students B次元官网网址渨ho didnB次元官网网址檛 come home, the missing children and unmarked burials,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey matter.B次元官网网址�

Before Parliamentarians passed Bill C-369 B次元官网网址� establishing National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday B次元官网网址� Webstad said the government had debated instead picking June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, as a new statutory holiday.

But Sept. 30 was later proposed instead, and thatB次元官网网址檚 when Webstad got involved, testifying about a potential Sept. 30 official date B次元官网网址� which was ultimately picked because B次元官网网址渂ecause Sept. 30 is somber, itB次元官网网址檚 not celebratory,B次元官网网址� she recalled.

B次元官网网址淥range Shirt Day is like Remembrance Day B次元官网网址� you wouldnB次元官网网址檛 say, `IB次元官网网址檓 going to celebrate Remembrance Day,B次元官网网址� or `Happy Remembrance Day,B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址� she added. B次元官网网址淕enocide is nothing to be happy about.B次元官网网址�

Another ongoing concern for Webstad and others in the Orange Shirt Society is what they describe as the appropriation of their cause by merchandisers around the world.

She described seeing Orange Shirt Day and Every Child Matters items for sale on popular online shops such as Etsy or Redbubble, from countries as far away as Vietnam.

One survivor contacted her upset to have found online vendors selling their own versions of orange shirts with a fashionable spin.

B次元官网网址淢y 10-year experience being held captive there was anything but fashionable,B次元官网网址� Webstad recalled. B次元官网网址淭hey just look at it as a money-maker. They donB次元官网网址檛 understand the history behind it they see it as trending and popular.B次元官网网址�

But the Orange Shirt Society has entered official partnerships with some major chains such as Walmart and Tim Hortons to sell merchandise honouring Orange Shirt Day.

So Webstad is aware of some peopleB次元官网网址檚 criticisms that the cause has become co-opted by companies.

B次元官网网址淚 know a lot of people get upset B次元官网网址� they say itB次元官网网址檚 commercialized,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 either that, or (the Orange Shirt Society) folds.B次元官网网址�

Since the federal holiday was declared, several Indigenous scholars have shared their thoughts about government moves to memorialize colonialismB次元官网网址檚 harms.

In an Orange Shirt Day lecture the first year Sept. 30 was also a statutory holiday, Yellowhead Institute research fellow Brock Pitawanakwat said itB次元官网网址檚 important to honour residential school survivors without ignoring current examples of colonialism.

B次元官网网址淚 can certainly see the importance of B次元官网网址� trying to make sure that legacy isnB次元官网网址檛 lost,B次元官网网址� the Anishinaabe scholar from Whitefish River First Nation told an audience hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Justice Project in 2021.

But he warned Canadians not to focus solely on events of the past.

B次元官网网址淗aving a holiday to commemorate residential schools, itB次元官网网址檚 easier for Canadians B次元官网网址� and the Canadian government who were in the position to create the national holiday or make it official B次元官网网址� to apologize for things that are behind us historically.B次元官网网址�

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson B次元官网网址� Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg author of As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance B次元官网网址� said in a 2022 lecture that Indigenous movementsB次元官网网址� priorities should be paramount, not governmentsB次元官网网址�.

B次元官网网址淲ithin Indigenous movements and within Indigenous communities, looking at ways in Canada of organizing that were based on what communities, Elders and Indigenous folks thought were important B次元官网网址� not what the State was telling us we needed to do,B次元官网网址� Simpson told the Oregon Humanities Centre in 2022, adding there is B次元官网网址渁 way of refusing reconciliation and the way that was being framed by the State.B次元官网网址�

Pitawanakwat, co-ordinator of York UniversityB次元官网网址檚 Indigenous Studies Program, noted thereB次元官网网址檚 no Indigenous Impoverishment Day or Indigenous Land Theft Day or one for child welfare B次元官网网址� even though those issues are ongoing colonial traumas.

B次元官网网址淚t almost seems like an opportunity for colonizers to give themselves a pat on the back for caring about the consequences of what they did,B次元官网网址� he said, B次元官网网址渨ithout actually having to do any redress.B次元官网网址�

Looking toward the future of the Indigenous-led Orange Shirt Day campaign, Webstad said her non-profit is planning ahead two years to honour the first cohort of children to graduate after receiving Orange Shirt Day education all the way from kindergarten through Grade 12.

B次元官网网址淧eople my age didnB次元官网网址檛 learn what happened to us,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey didnB次元官网网址檛 learn residential school history in school.

B次元官网网址淚 want the world to know, and Canada to know, that this graduating class is coming out, theyB次元官网网址檝e learned about what happened to us, and they have empathy.B次元官网网址�

She believes these future leaders, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, will create a different world than the one she grew up in B次元官网网址� where she B次元官网网址渨asnB次元官网网址檛 even treated like a human being.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l never see reconciliation in my lifetime,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut weB次元官网网址檙e on the path. The seed has been planted with these kids in school.B次元官网网址�