52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing - Week 40

Week 40 –  Wear An Orange Shirt on Orange Shirt Day from Robertson, David A. 52 Ways to Reconcile: How to Walk with Indigenous Peoples on the Path to Healing

September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, though many people still refer to it as Orange Shirt Day. There is an ongoing discussion about whether symbolic gestures can be an effective means of creating action or whether they are simply symbolism. Robertson admits that he doesn’t know the answer to this question. However, he shares a powerful experience from one September 30, when he spends the day visiting schools and speaking with students. There is something powerful about walking into a gymnasium filled with folks wearing orange shirts, many of them bearing the words Every Child Matters. As an intergenerational survivor, Robertson becomes emotional. 

He thinks about his own Nana, his kokom, and how she may never have had the opportunity to share her story with him. But her experiences were not hers alone; they reflected the experiences of so many Indigenous children who were taken from their families and placed in residential schools.

Every child had their hair cut.
Every child was forbidden to speak their language.
Every child was separated from their family.
Every child had their clothes taken away.
Every child matters.

Wearing an orange shirt might not seem like much, but it brings us together as a community and shows that we are working toward the same goals. We all take different paths toward reconciliation, but for one day, those paths come together as we honour the children who were affected by the residential school system.

When buying an orange shirt, it is important to make sure your purchase supports meaningful programs for residential school survivors and that the artist is Indigenous. It only takes a little research to make sure your shirt has a purpose behind it. Then, when you wear your orange shirt, you can do so with intention, empathy, and a commitment to remembering the children who matter.

Jennifer Aldous

Want to read last weeks post, you can do so here.