Today is Orange Shirt Day. It is a day we, as Canadians, remember the Indigenous children who were stolen from their homes and robbed of their culture, their families and their traditions by the residential school systems.
Why September 30th?
Every September, Indigenous children were ripped away from their families and communities. They were taken to residential schools.
The residential school system involved the Government of Canada and churches throughout the country. The purpose of these schools
was to eliminate the stolen children’s indigenous identities. It was an act of cultural genocide.
Former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in her 2015 speech, Reconciling University and Diversity in the Modern Era: Tolerance and Intolerance, noted that the “objective was to “take the Indian out of the child”, and thus to solve what John A. Macdonald referred to as the “Indian problem”. “Indianness” was not to be tolerated; rather it must be eliminated. In the buzz-word of the day, assimilation; in the language of the 21st century, cultural genocide.”
That is why September 30th was chosen as Orange Shirt Day.
Spirit of Reconciliation
Orange Shirt Day is not only to remember the Indigenous children who were stolen from their homes but is an opportunity to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations.
We hope everyone takes time to open up, listen to First Nations peoples and the stories of survivors and their families.
Learn more about the history of Orange Shirt Day and consider supporting the Orange Shirt Society. Visit their website at: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/