Orange Shirt Day

 

Today (September 30th) is Orange Shirt Day in Canada.

Also known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.

It remembers the Indian-Forced Boarding Schools, those Children Abused (Verbally, Physically and Sexually) and those Children who died under Mysterious Circumstances and were buried in either Mass Graves or Unmarked Graves on the School Grounds.

There were 140 Federally and Religiously-Run (Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church) Indian Residential Schools in Canada between 1831 and 1998.

Schools operated in every Province and Territory with the exception of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

150,000 Indigenous Children were separated from their Families and forced to attend these Boarding Schools to “beat the Indian out of them.”

An estimated 30,000 Indigenous Children died under Mysterious Circumstances and were buried in Mass Graves or Unmarked Graves on the School Grounds.

From 2008-2015 the Canadian Government funded the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the crimes. The findings were that it was Cultural Genocide.

In 1994, the Presbyterian Church of Canada apologized for their Church’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.

In 2004, the Canadian Royal Mounted Police apologized for their role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.

In 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the Canadian Government’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.

In May 2022, Justin Wellby, the Bishop of Canterbury for the Anglican Church, apologized for their Church’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed there.

In July 2022, while visiting Canada, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in the Residential Schools and the abuses committed at them.

The British Monarch, the British Government and the Canadian Monarch have not apologized for their roles in the Residential Schools or the abuses committed there.

Since 2021, 59 Unmarked and Mass Graves have been discovered at these Residential Schools across Canada with more being discovered as more work is done at the sites.

Former Residential School Students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada. Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat.