By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

*Content warning: This article contains details about residential schools. Please read with care for your spirit.*

The residential school survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day 鈥� and the Every Child Matters movement 鈥� says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.

Phyllis Webstad, founder and CEO of the Orange Shirt Society, told Indigi亚洲天堂 she鈥檚 noticed a growing number of public posters and government campaigns are instead focused on the recently adopted National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR).

In 2013, Orange Shirt Day was born after she shared her childhood story of her new orange shirt 鈥� gifted to her by her grandma 鈥� being taken from her at age six, on her first day at the St. Joseph鈥檚 Mission in the early 1970s.

Orange shirts 鈥� often bearing the motto Every Child Matters 鈥� have become a symbol honouring children who never returned home from residential schools, as well as survivors of the colonial institutions.

For 11 years, Sept. 30 has been marked across the country as Orange Shirt Day.

Webstad鈥檚 story has contributed to the discourse around the history of colonialism in Canada 鈥� particularly residential schools, where she recalls being 鈥渟ick, hungry, tired, lonely, bawling my eyeballs out鈥� at age six.

鈥淔our-, five- and six-year-olds should not be comforting each other, and that was the case,鈥� Webstad, of Stswecem鈥檆 Xgat鈥檛em First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band), told Indigi亚洲天堂. 鈥淚 felt like I did not matter.鈥�

In 2021, the Government of Canada officially recognized its first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a statutory holiday coinciding with Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30 鈥� an annual day to reflect on the country鈥檚 harmful, ongoing legacy of colonialism.

But despite the federal recognition, Webstad now worries people are forgetting about the purpose of the original annual event on that day. For instance, some posters and campaigns across the country only mention the statutory holiday 鈥� leaving out or downplaying Orange Shirt Day almost entirely.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want Orange Shirt Day to be forgotten,鈥� the 57-year-old said. 鈥淚t was started by a survivor. It needs to be respected 鈥� I need to be respected 鈥� and I don鈥檛 feel I have that.鈥�

She said she wishes campaigns around Sept. 30 would honour both Orange Shirt Day and NDTR in their messages.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not one or the other, it鈥檚 both,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople think that it鈥檚 being replaced. Even (the Department of) Canadian Heritage, when they put out their call for proposals for monies for Sept. 30, there was no mention of Orange Shirt Day.鈥�

Canadian Heritage does not mention Orange Shirt Day on its funding program call-out for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, nor on its main homepage 鈥� where it highlights the statutory holiday.

But the webpage for the Sept. 30 holiday itself acknowledges both events occur on the same day, stating that Orange Shirt Day is an 鈥淚ndigenous-led grassroots commemorative day.鈥�

A spokesperson for the federal department told Indigi亚洲天堂 the holiday 鈥渁ligns with and builds on鈥� the work Webstad and her organization have done for more than a decade.

鈥淲e encourage all Canadians to wear orange to honour the thousands of Survivors of residential schools,鈥� the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement Friday. 鈥淭he orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.鈥�

Asked about why Canadian Heritage did not include Orange Shirt Day in this year鈥檚 funding program application, the ministry said it鈥檚 鈥渋n the process of updating language to reflect Orange Shirt Day鈥� 鈥� vowing to make the change before the program鈥檚 launch in November.

Webstad鈥檚 concerns about Orange Shirt Day being downplayed don鈥檛 just apply to the federal government, however.

An Internet search for Orange Shirt Day on Google instead brings results displaying National Day for Truth and Reconciliation first, with only a small thumbnail-sized image of an orange shirt. But a similar search for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings results stating it is still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day. Other major search engines offered similar results favouring the official holiday over the ongoing event鈥檚 origins.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim issued an official city proclamation ahead of the statutory holiday, but nowhere in the page-long document is Orange Shirt Day mentioned. (Sim鈥檚 predecessor as mayor, Kennedy Stewart, equally did not reference Orange Shirt Day in his own 2022 proclamation).

Meanwhile, the B.C. government鈥檚 webpage for the NDTR statutory holiday encourages people to participate by 鈥渨earing an orange shirt,鈥� but only mentions the occasion鈥檚 origins as Orange Shirt Day after eight paragraphs, nearly halfway down the text.

鈥�2024 marks the eleventh anniversary of Orange Shirt Day,鈥� the province notes, 鈥渁n important opportunity to open up dialogue on anti-racism and anti-bullying.鈥�

For Webstad, as a survivor, the trend is becoming increasingly worrisome.

鈥淥ne day, there will be no survivors left in Canada,鈥� Webstad said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want Orange Shirt Day to be, `What was that?鈥濃��

She said she originally chose late September for Orange Shirt Day because it鈥檚 the time of year when Canada took hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children from their homes and families 鈥� starting in the 1880s until the last residential school closed in the late 1990s.

The early fall date also lets teachers plan lessons about residential schools after settling into each new school year, she explained.

鈥淪eptember made sense,鈥� Webstad said, 鈥渂ecause survivors do not like this time of the year.鈥�

In 2015, she founded the Orange Shirt Society as a non-profit, trademarking the phrase 鈥淓very Child Matters.鈥�

The organization sells orange t-shirts and other merchandise, with funds and donations going towards its growing public awareness campaigns.

鈥淪urvivors are adults, Elders now,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut they were children when they were at these so-called `schools鈥� 鈥� they matter.鈥�

And the slogan Every Child Matters also honoured the students 鈥渨ho didn鈥檛 come home, the missing children and unmarked burials,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey matter.鈥�

Before Parliamentarians passed Bill C-369 鈥� establishing National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday 鈥� Webstad said the government had debated instead picking June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, as a new statutory holiday.

But Sept. 30 was later proposed instead, and that鈥檚 when Webstad got involved, testifying about a potential Sept. 30 official date 鈥� which was ultimately picked because 鈥渂ecause Sept. 30 is somber, it鈥檚 not celebratory,鈥� she recalled.

鈥淥range Shirt Day is like Remembrance Day 鈥� you wouldn鈥檛 say, `I鈥檓 going to celebrate Remembrance Day,鈥� or `Happy Remembrance Day,鈥濃�� she added. 鈥淕enocide is nothing to be happy about.鈥�

Another ongoing concern for Webstad and others in the Orange Shirt Society is what they describe as the appropriation of their cause by merchandisers around the world.

She described seeing Orange Shirt Day and Every Child Matters items for sale on popular online shops such as Etsy or Redbubble, from countries as far away as Vietnam.

One survivor contacted her upset to have found online vendors selling their own versions of orange shirts with a fashionable spin.

鈥淢y 10-year experience being held captive there was anything but fashionable,鈥� Webstad recalled. 鈥淭hey just look at it as a money-maker. They don鈥檛 understand the history behind it they see it as trending and popular.鈥�

But the Orange Shirt Society has entered official partnerships with some major chains such as Walmart and Tim Hortons to sell merchandise honouring Orange Shirt Day.

So Webstad is aware of some people鈥檚 criticisms that the cause has become co-opted by companies.

鈥淚 know a lot of people get upset 鈥� they say it鈥檚 commercialized,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 either that, or (the Orange Shirt Society) folds.鈥�

Since the federal holiday was declared, several Indigenous scholars have shared their thoughts about government moves to memorialize colonialism鈥檚 harms.

In an Orange Shirt Day lecture the first year Sept. 30 was also a statutory holiday, Yellowhead Institute research fellow Brock Pitawanakwat said it鈥檚 important to honour residential school survivors without ignoring current examples of colonialism.

鈥淚 can certainly see the importance of 鈥� trying to make sure that legacy isn鈥檛 lost,鈥� the Anishinaabe scholar from Whitefish River First Nation told an audience hosted by the Indigenous Environmental Justice Project in 2021.

But he warned Canadians not to focus solely on events of the past.

鈥淗aving a holiday to commemorate residential schools, it鈥檚 easier for Canadians 鈥� and the Canadian government who were in the position to create the national holiday or make it official 鈥� to apologize for things that are behind us historically.鈥�

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson 鈥� Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg author of As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance 鈥� said in a 2022 lecture that Indigenous movements鈥� priorities should be paramount, not governments鈥�.

鈥淲ithin Indigenous movements and within Indigenous communities, looking at ways in Canada of organizing that were based on what communities, Elders and Indigenous folks thought were important 鈥� not what the State was telling us we needed to do,鈥� Simpson told the Oregon Humanities Centre in 2022, adding there is 鈥渁 way of refusing reconciliation and the way that was being framed by the State.鈥�

Pitawanakwat, co-ordinator of York University鈥檚 Indigenous Studies Program, noted there鈥檚 no Indigenous Impoverishment Day or Indigenous Land Theft Day or one for child welfare 鈥� even though those issues are ongoing colonial traumas.

鈥淚t almost seems like an opportunity for colonizers to give themselves a pat on the back for caring about the consequences of what they did,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ithout actually having to do any redress.鈥�

Looking toward the future of the Indigenous-led Orange Shirt Day campaign, Webstad said her non-profit is planning ahead two years to honour the first cohort of children to graduate after receiving Orange Shirt Day education all the way from kindergarten through Grade 12.

鈥淧eople my age didn鈥檛 learn what happened to us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 learn residential school history in school.

鈥淚 want the world to know, and Canada to know, that this graduating class is coming out, they鈥檝e learned about what happened to us, and they have empathy.鈥�

She believes these future leaders, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, will create a different world than the one she grew up in 鈥� where she 鈥渨asn鈥檛 even treated like a human being.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檒l never see reconciliation in my lifetime,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e on the path. The seed has been planted with these kids in school.鈥�