Today is the fourth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Before it was a federal statutory holiday, Sept. 30 was known as Orange Shirt Day, originated by Secwépemc activist and residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad in 2013. For non-Indigenous people, it’s a day for learning about and reckoning with the ongoing trauma inflicted by the residential school system; for Indigenous people, it’s also a day of mourning.
On Truth and Reconciliation Day, we remember and honour the children who attended residential schools — many of whom never returned home. Those who did carried profound trauma after being separated from their families, cultures, languages and communities, often enduring physical and sexual abuse. Many of those survivors are still with us; many more are just one or two generations removed.
Source: The Narwhal/September 30/24