On September 30th we mark Orange Shirt Day / The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and in the US the National Day of Remembrance for those who attended Indian boarding schools. Today we take time to reflect on the residential school system, its history, and its ongoing impact on Indigenous peoples and their communities. The schools in what we now call Canada operated for more than 160 years: the first opening in the early 1830s and the last closing in 1997. This racist and abusive system has shaped the fabric of the places we share and call home: the traditional territories, treaty and unceded lands, and homelands of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.
Orange Shirt Day gets its name from Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a member of the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, whose beloved orange shirt was taken away from her when she went to a residential school at the age of six. Phyllis has inspired so many, and continues to share her story, and the stories of others, in books and through talks and the work of the Orange Shirt Society.
Sharing stories from survivors of this system is something that we can do as a press. This post features the words and art from a book we were honoured to publish this year called Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story, written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn. Shirley's life was forever altered when she was separated from her family and sent to residential school at age five. What shines is her ability to hold on to happiness and to hope. Shirley has uplifted many, as the former Chief of the Missanabie Cree First Nation and the first chancellor of Algoma University, and by helping create the Children of Shingwauk Alumni Association and the Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall exhibit.
Let's share survivors' stories together, and fight back against residential school denialism. We would like to point to an article recently published in The Conversation called "5 ways teachers can respond to residential school denialism in the classroom." written by Lindsay Gibson and James Miles. This is particularly useful for teachers, but also important information for us all if we encounter those who would deny the truth of our history.
Explore more SSP books by Indigenous creators, including these books about residential schools:
