Orange Shirt Day is a national day of remembrance for the Indigenous people who lost their lives or survived residential schools and takes place on Sept. 30.
The symbol of the orange shirt comes from author Phyllis Webstad’s own residential school experience where she showed up on the first day and her orange shirt her grandmother had saved up to buy her was taken away.
First Nations, Metis and Inuit family school liaison Alma Swan starts the program about two weeks before the actual day by going class to class and reading Webstad’s story to the students.
The motto for Orange Shirt Day is “Every Child Matters” and that is carried forward in Landing Trail Intermediate School.
“We try and practice the model of ‘every child matters every day,’” Swan said.
LTIS assistant principal Shona Hunter echoed that statement, “We embed it in our culture. Everyone has a place, and everyone matters.”
To that end Swan used the last of the shed antlers that had been given to her for another project by Fish and Wildlife, to create medallions for the students to decorate. The students were given the choice of painting an orange T-shirt or the words “Every Child Matters” onto the medallions.
One of the custodians carefully cut out about 400 medallions for the students to use and the students followed Swan’s instructions.
Grade 6 student Minsis Antoine, 10, said she has taken part in six Orange Shirt Days and last year got to meet Webstad.
Antoine said Orange Shirt Day is important “so we can remember the people who died in residential schools.”
Dawson Lugonja said, “Residential schools were extremely wrong, and I don’t get why the government did it.”
Lugonja was drawn to the story of Chanie Wenjack who fled his residential school in Ontario and died on his journey trying to return home.
His Grade 6 class listened to the album “The Secret Path” by Gord Downie. Downie recorded the album to raise money and remember Wenjack and the struggles of residential school survivors shortly before his passing in 2017.
LTIS principal Joe MacIssac said that Orange Shirt Day was an opportunity to “look back at the history of residential schools. It was a mistake that carried on far too long.”
MacIssac added recognizing the day furthers truth and reconciliation for the students.
