Clad in orange T-shirts, students across the country will spend their Mondays learning about the intergenerational harm done to children at Canada乌鸦传媒檚 residential schools.

Sept. 30 marks the seventh annual Orange Shirt Day, started by Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor and Stswecem乌鸦传媒檆 Xgat乌鸦传媒檛em from Williams Lake. The national day of remembrance refers to one of her first memories at St. Joseph乌鸦传媒檚 Mission Residential School in B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 central Interior in the 1970s, when staff took away her orange shirt, bought especially for school, when she was six years old.

乌鸦传媒淭he colour orange has always reminded me of that [incident] and how my feelings didn乌鸦传媒檛 matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing,乌鸦传媒� Webstad writes on the Orange Shirt Day website. 乌鸦传媒淎ll of us little children were crying and no one cared.乌鸦传媒�

Her story has inspired many across the country and around the world to talk about the realities of residential schools and the wider historical marginalization of Indigenous peoples.

Thousands of First Nations, M茅tis and Inuit children were removed from their homes and forced to attend residential schools. The last one closed in 1996.

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Webstad spends her time sharing her story and her beliefs about reconciliation with young people, including at an elementary school in B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 Fraser Valley earlier this month.

乌鸦传媒淭he elementary (schools) are the hardest,乌鸦传媒� she told the . 乌鸦传媒淚 have to really watch what I say with the younger ones. With the older ones, I can tell them more, but with the younger ones, it乌鸦传媒檚 really just surface stuff to introduce the topic.乌鸦传媒�

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This year乌鸦传媒檚 Orange Shirt Day will also celebrate Bill C-369, a federal bill awaiting a second vote in the Senate to make Sept. 30 the . If passed, the last day of September will be a statutory holiday.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 the truth of the history of Canada,乌鸦传媒� Webstad said of residential schools. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 not just First Nation history, this is Canadian history. And Canadians that live in this country need to be aware of this dark past.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒� with files from Grace Kennedy

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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