Phyllis Webstad, the woman behind Orange Shirt Day, didn’t attend a residential school and says in her memoir that she liked her public school teacher so much that she wished she could take her home.
“The Mission was the place where we slept and ate. When I attended in 1973, there were 272 students in total, boys and girls. All of the students were bussed into Williams Lake to attend public school, about 20 minutes away. ... I liked my teacher there, she had crazy red curly hair, she smelled good, and she was kind — I wished she could take me home with her.”
I don’t blame her. Here’s how Webstad’s aunt describes life on the Dog Creek reserve where she and Phyllis grew up:
“There was lots of violence and drinking on the reserve. Many times at Granny Suzanne’s, we had to hide ourselves for our safety, usually in the sweat house or the haystack by the creek. My two uncles lived with us. One of them abused me sexually, and the other abused me mentally and physically. He would beat me and my brother with sticks and anything he could get his hands on. He even bullwhipped us once.”
There is no conspiracy to steal Native kids from their homes. There are hundreds of years of priests, nuns, and other Christian Canadians taking care of needy Indigenous children out of genuine compassion and concern. These selfless and heroic acts of love deserve the respect and admiration of our entire nation.
Next Orange Shirt Day, we can wear black and white to honour them.
[LINK to “Behind the Orange Shirt,” by Nina Green below]