Reflections on Orange Shirt Day from a Christian and a Parent
by Zuzanna Smetana, National Administrator
Today, my child’s daycare is covered in small, orange paper t-shirts. They are papered on the windows, hanging from the railings, and covering the front door. A woman passes by, “Aren’t these kids too young?” and I wonder the same thing as my orange-shirted child enters a room full of their orange-shirted peers. But I am not thinking, “These kids are too young to know about this movement,” but rather, “Those kids were too young to suffer the way that they did.”
“Why orange?” my child asks, as I explain all their peers will be dressed the same.
How do you explain this to a two-year-old? “Because once, there was a child named Phyllis (Webstad) who wore a pretty new orange shirt to school, but some mean teachers told her she couldn’t wear it, and she didn’t feel special anymore. Later, we found out that lots of children like Phyllis had mean people in their lives, so we wear orange shirts to celebrate all children, and remember the children that were hurt.”
“Like a boo-boo?”
Yes, my dear child. A very big boo-boo.
But if you are reading this, you are likely an adult or close to it. You know it is far more than boo-boo that the Indigenous people of Canada have suffered. An estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children were forced to attend residential schools in Canada between the 1860s and 1996.The last federally-run Canadian residential school closed in 1996. Even before residential schools, they were sidelined and harmed by people taking their land and denigrating their way of life.
The harm continues today. Six-hundred-eighteen First Nations Communities are not supplied with safe drinking water. Survivors of residential schools, and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, carry that trauma and intergenerational trauma throughout their lives, leading to significant health disparities and socio-economic challenges. Systemic racism and discrimination within the criminal justice system continues, while basic access to essential services remains inadequate in many areas. You’ve heard of terms like Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman (MMIW), the Sixties Scoop, starlight tours, and birth alerts. The harm is clear and visible.
As Christians, we are called not just to pray (though prayer is vital), but also to act. “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17).
Consider advocating in your local schools for mandatory Indigenous Studies courses in high schools. Let’s empower our children to steer away from racist rhetoric.
Donate your resources, financial and otherwise, to organizations that prioritize uplifting Indigenous communities. Indigenous Climate Action can use financial resources, while local shelters often need volunteers who can give their time.
Have conversations at home - not just with your two year olds but your teens and elders too. Silence is what kept us from learning the true horrors of residential schools for many years. Let’s foster a community where we can talk honestly about the injustices around us.
Sign up for newsletters from organizations like The Indigenous Foundation - stay informed!
Support Indigenous artists and educators, musicians, beadwork artists, podcasters, authors, storytellers, and more.
Tonight, at our dinner table, we will pray for Truth and Reconciliation, that God would help us heal the wounds of the past, and that we may be part of making things right.