About 400 students visited the Awen Gathering Circle in Collingwood yesterday to mark Orange Shirt Day.
The morning ceremony included testimony from Indigenous people on the impact of the residential school system.
The event was organized by the Town of Collingwood with the Simcoe County District School Board and included students from Cameron Street Public School, Admiral Public School, St. Mary’s Catholic School, and Notre Dame de la Huronie.
The event began with a land acknowledgement and student presentations.
There was a student music performance of Stranger by Gord Downie by a Cameron Street class.
Two guest speakers also spoke to students to explain more the impact of residential schools on Indigenous children including a loss of community, language, and trauma.
Heather McIntyre and Jillian Morris were the guest speakers.
McIntyre lives and works in the area as a life and wellness empowerment coach and Aboriginal healing facilitator. Morris lives in Collingwood and is a member of the advisory board for Feather Carrier’s Leadership for Life and is a researcher for an APTN documentary about harnessing Indigenous knowledge and Indigenizing the future.
According to Tanya Mazza, arts and culture coordinator for the town, the event aimed to build awareness of the impact of the residential school system on Indigenous communities and to teach the importance of creating caring, respectful, fair and safe environments. The event also aimed to engage students in “meaningful reconciliation” by learning about Canada’s history and by sharing Indigenous teaching with students.
Orange Shirt Day is based on the story of Phyllis Webstad, who attended what she calls a Mission school (it is known today as a residential school) for the 1973/74 school year. She was six years old. She lived with her grandmother on the Dog Creek reserve. Her grandmother took her to a store – despite not having much money – and bought her a new shirt for her first day of school. It was orange and laced up in front. According to Webstad, who tells her story here, she was excited for school and about her new shirt. The shirt was taken from her, and she didn't see it again.
Thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their communities to residential schools where they were abused, kept from their families, prohibited from speaking their language, and from celebrating their culture.