Équité, diversité, inclusion (EDI)

Indigenous

Orange Shirt Day
National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
September 30

On September 30, Canadians are invited to wear orange in solidarity with Indigenous peoples whose children were forced for over 150 years, to attend Residential Schools operated by religious orders and sponsored by the Government of Canada.

September 30 is also Orange Shirt Day, a day that began with the story of Phyllis Webstad who, at the age of six, was stripped of the new orange shirt her grandmother had bought her, for her first day at Residential School. The story quickly spurred on a grassroots movement.

The Government of Canada recently established a national holiday on the same day, called the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

An important step in the reconciliation process, the purpose of the day is to recognize the traumatic history and intergenerational effects of Residential Schools, as well as to acknowledge the damage that the Residential School system inflicted on Indigenous families and communities - including physical, sexual, and cultural abuse. Lastly, it seeks to honour survivors and families affected by these injustices.

What were Residential Schools?
How many children were forced to attended these schools?
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
How important is reconciliation?
Orange Shirt Day
National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
What can I do?

About the word "Indian”


"Indigenous" is currently many Nations’ preferred term, because it refers to the original inhabitants of a place. In Canada, the term "Indigenous" includes those who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuit.

The word "Indian" was based on a mistake made by Christopher Columbus. While sailing westward in search of a new passage to India he arrived at the continent that would later be renamed America. Believing he was in India, he called the people who were already living there "Indians." This word is a derivative of the Latin India, which refers to India, because Indian individuals are natives of an Asian continent - not native inhabitants of the American continent. It should be noted that some indigenous peoples had already named North America "Turtle Island."

Although it retains some legal significance in Canada, the term "Indian" is currently considered incorrect and offensive. Whenever possible, it is preferable to refer to Indigenous people with specific reference to their identity or nation.

In Quebec, there are 11 Indigenous Nations: Abenaki, Anishnabeg (Algonquin), Atikamekw, Eeyou Istchee (Cree), Innu (Montagnais), Inuit, Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk), Mig'mak (Mi'kmaq), Naskapi, Huron-Wendat and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet).

Learn more:
The Canadian Encyclopaedia – Indian
Magazine Historia – La vie d’un mot : Indien (In French)
The Canadian Encyclopaedia – Turtle Island
Gouvernement du Québec – Profile of the Nations

What were Residential Schools?

  • From the early 1600s to the 1990s, religious orders operated missionary schools for Indigenous children.
  • In the early 1830s, state-sponsored denominational schools were established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture, thereby eradicating the government’s "Indian problem.” 
  • Canadian Residential Schools were instruments of state and church assimilation, and operated for over 150 years. 
  • 139 Residential Schools state operated in Canada.
  • Students were forcibly removed from their homes, and were separated from their parents at a young age.
  • Students were prohibited from and punished for speaking their own languages, for engaging in spiritual or cultural practices, or wearing traditional clothing. 
  • The last residential school closed in 1996.

How many children were forced to attended these schools?

  • It’s estimated that 150,000 students were forced to attend these schools.
  • Under Canadian government legislation, all First Nations, inuit, and métis children were forcibly removed from their families and sent, against their will, to Residential Schools. 
  • Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as malnutrition and disease, were common in Residential Schools. 
  • Children were also subjected to scientific experiments against their will and without their knowledge.
  • Over 6,000 children are believed to have died in Residential Schools because of illness, abuse, neglect, or accidents. Many more are missing.
  • In 2021, the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found in unmarked graves on the grounds of a former Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia. In Saskatchewan, 751 unmarked graves were discovered at a former Residential School there. The number of children's remains discovered in unmarked graves continues to grow to this day.

Learn more:  Canadian Residential School system – Canadian Encyclopedia

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

  • The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada occurred in Canada from 2008 to 2015, and was organized as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
  • The Commission was established to document the history and intergenerational impacts on children and their families, of Canada’s Residential School system.
  • The TRC provided an opportunity for Residential School survivors to share their experiences in public and private meetings held across the country.
  • The Commission’s priority was to make Canadians aware of the impacts of Residential Schools.
  • In June 2015, the TRC released a summary of its findings and 94 "Calls to Action" to facilitate reconciliation between Canadians and Indigenous peoples.
  • In December 2015, the TRC released a multi-volume final report that concluded that the Residential School system was cultural genocide.
  • The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation was established at the University of Manitoba in November 2015, and is an archive housing the research, documents, and testimony collected during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Learn more: National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

How important is reconciliation?

  • Residential Schools are part of our collective history.
  • Canada's relationship with Indigenous nations can only be healed and rebuilt through education, awareness, and a better understanding of Residential Schools’ traumatic legacy.
  • According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, reconciliation is only possible if mutually respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people (settlers) in Canada are established and maintained.
  • Reconciliation requires knowledge of the past, and an understanding of present issues, acknowledgement of trauma experienced, the repair of mistakes and concrete actions that change attitudes.
  • By teaching history that includes Indigenous voices and perspectives, resilience and hope for a better future can be cultivated, and Indigenous communities across the country can flourish.

Orange Shirt Day

  • The day began after Residential School survivor Phyllis Webstad told her story. In 1973, on her first day of school at St. Joseph's Mission Residential School in British Columbia, six-year-old Phyllis was stripped of the new orange shirt her grandmother had given her. She never saw her beloved orange shirt again.
  • In May 2013, some 40 years later, Phyllis spoke publicly for the first time about her experience. Her story is the origin of the Orange Shirt Day movement.
  • Orange Shirt Day came about from a grassroots movement to bring attention to the violent realities of Residential Schools that existed for 165 years (1831-1996), and to show solidarity with survivors, their families, and their communities.
  • September 30 was chosen because it corresponds to the time when Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, and sent to Residential Schools.

Read Phyllis’ story

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

  • The Government of Canada recently passed legislation to establish September 30 as the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
  • The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is the same is day as Orange Shirt Day.
  • This day is an important step in the reconciliation process as it aims to:
    • Recognize the traumatic history and intergenerational effects of Residential Schools;
    • Acknowledge the abuse of Indigenous people and their families and communities through the Residential School system;
    • Honour Residential School system survivors, their families and their communities.
  • Establishing a day of reflection is part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action (#80) and serves as a day of remembrance, reflection, action and learning.

What can I do?

Learn more

Participate

Get involved with Indigenous organizations

Where to find support and help

 

Sources: National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Government of Canada, Orange Shirt Society, Wikipedia

Recognizing Indigenous territory

Polytechnique Montreal is located on the Université de Montréal campus, and as such, subscribes to the following
https://www.umontreal.ca/en/indigenouspeoples/recognition/