Hundreds dressed in orange braved 80 km/hr winds and rain to march to a former southwestern Manitoba Indian Residential School site Monday.
The Orange Shirt Day walk — part of Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council’s fourth annual Truth and Reconciliation Week — honours the painful history of residential schools while celebrating the legacy of survivors, says volunteer Conan Beardy. The week showcases Indigenous culture to youth and the general public to honour those who didn’t make it out of residential schools.
“I really want people to recognize how much our people have suffered in the past. I know there was a lot of discrimination,” he said.
Orange Shirt Day brings the community together to talk about the dark history of residential schools, along with the resiliency of survivors. Beardy wants to help people learn about Indigenous culture because it is a form of healing.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, first officially observed in 2021, honours children who died while attending residential schools and the survivors, families and communities still affected by the legacy of that system.
It’s also known as Orange Shirt Day, in honour of Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt — given to her by her grandmother — was taken away from her on her first day of school at a B.C. residential school in 1973.
Beardy, a member of The Good Hearted Warriors men’s group, is a Truth and Reconciliation Fire Keeper, tending a sacred fire for residential school survivors and the children who didn’t make it home. As a knowledge keeper at the Riverbank Discovery Centre teepee village, he gets to talk to people about his culture during Truth and Reconciliation Week.
He says each conversation reminds him of what Orange Shirt Day is about — celebrating Indigenous culture and traditions, while acknowledging the discrimination Indigenous people can still face in Canada.
Education as healing
Education is at the heart of Truth and Reconciliation week, says Natashia Marion, Brandon Urban Aboriginal People’s Council community coordinator. The week, which began on Friday, brings the community together to talk about the long-lasting impact of residential schools.
Monday saw around 400 people come together for Orange Shirt Day. The walk begins with stories from residential school survivors. Before the walk visitors can see a special exhibition from Knox United Church that features photos from residential schools.
Marion says the exhibit highlights some of the experiences children went through while they were in residential schools.
“Many of the pictures you see, these children did not survive. Those who did survive and came home, they were forever damaged by these horrifying government policies. So this is a real-life,” Marion said.
The Orange Shirt Day walk ends at the former Brandon Indian Residential School where supporters march by more than 100 orange hearts and a metal teepee dedicated to the missing children of residential schools.
Marion wants people, especially youth, to understand Canadian history so they can help build a better future for the country.
There’s a power in educating children because they talk about Indigenous students taken from their families who had their culture stolen from them, she said.
“We need to educate them and heal them so they can walk forward in a good way,” Marion said. “Think about why we’re here, where we are today and [you’re] own part in playing and becoming a better society and walking together in truth and reconciliation.”
Natasha and Russell Ready want their children, Saoirse, five, and Flynn, three, to know about Orange Shirt Day and the history of residential schools in Canada.
Russell says he didn’t learn about this awful part of Canada’s history as a child. Natasha was a child when the last residential school, but it wasn’t something people talked about, she said.
Part of reconciliation is ensuring his children know about these schools, Russell said. It’s part of building a better country and future for everyone.
“We need to continue to education,” Natasha said. “Make sure that they understand what Indigenous people in Canada had gone through and why there’s generational trauma that continues on today.”
