Orange Shirts

The residential school system was mandated by the Canadian government in 1883 and run by certain churches and religious organisations, which resulted in indigenous children being torn from their families to be assimilated in the Canadian culture. Over a century later in 2013, the Orange Shirt movement, also referred to as Every Child Matters, was initiated to raise awareness of the devastation caused by the residential schools to First Nations families throughout Canada. The story of Phyllis “Jack” Webstad, as explained in her book Phyllis’s Orange Shirt, inspired the symbol seen all over Canada on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation held 30 September.