What True Allyship Looks Like On Orange Shirt Day

My eight-year-old daughter knows a lot about residential schools. It’s not a secretive conversation when I talk about our relatives who were forcibly taken from their families, had their hair cut off and weren’t allowed to go home for most of their childhoods. Nor was the conversation secretive for me as a child, when my mom talked about the physical abuse that occurred in the schools and why some of our relatives continued to drink alcohol to attempt to run away from the pain. When we do talk about the history of residential schools, it’s done so at an age-appropriate level. But she knows the truth, and she’s not afraid to share it.

We were making a bedtime snack together one evening when I asked her what Orange Shirt Day means to her in one phrase. I was genuinely curious, as she had visited the grounds of an old residential school earlier in the year. She knows what happened at those schools, and she knows what Orange Shirt Day is.

“Every day treat Indigenous Peoples kindly,” she replied. She’s a child. And she knows the answer, automatically.

This answer doesn’t come so easily to so many others who are still settling on the original territories and lands of Indigenous Peoples.

Orange Shirt Day was created by an Indigenous woman named Phyllis Webstad from Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, who is a residential school survivor. On her first day of school in 1973, she wore an orange shirt that her grandmother bought for her, but it was violently taken away by the priests and nuns at the school. They also cut off her hair, forbade her to speak her mother tongue and separated her from her siblings. She never saw her orange shirt again.

Webstad started sharing her story in 2013; it opened the doors for many non-Indigenous families to finally have conversations about residential schools in Canada and what they can do to create meaningful acts of reparation with Indigenous Peoples.

The day also aligned with number 80 of the 94 Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2019: “We call upon the federal government, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, to establish, as a statutory holiday, a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour Survivors, their families and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

Orange Shirt Day—now also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation—is meant to honour, a reminder to “treat Indigenous Peoples kindly.” 

Yet, if you take a deeper look at the ongoing challenges and issues that many Indigenous Peoples face across this land, it can seem like Orange Shirt Day is only a surface expression of change.

Historically, Canada was founded on genocide committed against Indigenous Peoples. But senseless deaths are still happening today. Look no further than the 11-day span between August 29 and September 8 of this year, when six Indigenous Peoples were killed by police and RCMP. A variety of interactions led to the deaths of the victims, who included Steven "Iggy" Dedam, a New Brunswick man reported to be in mental distress who was shot during a wellness check; Tammy Bateman, a female pedestrian who was struck by a police car in a Winnipeg park; and Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old Alberta boy who was shot in a field after he called 911 because he believed his life was in danger.

These attacks are causing many Indigenous Peoples to become even more wary and cautious of the RCMP and other colonial entities than they already had been.

Another recent example that highlights the ongoing attempts of colonization and oppression against Indigenous Peoples: the length of time it took for the Manitoba government to approve a search of Winnipeg’s Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, two Indigenous women who were murdered by a convicted serial killer. The search is a five-stage process, and the government continues to highlight the amount of money it will cost to potentially recover the women’s bodies, rather than the importance of providing closure to their families.

These are just some of the countless instances in which Indigenous Peoples and our families, communities and nations are not receiving the kindness that my eight-year-old mentioned.

“Every day treat Indigenous Peoples kindly.” 

Breathe that in. Because it’s more than just words. It’s coming from the wisdom of a child, who knows what’s right, who has experienced violent racism even at her age, in this present day.

The truth is this: Orange Shirt Day isn’t just about committing to kindness to Indigenous peoples one day a year. It’s about investing the time and energy in educating yourself, becoming aware of the social issues and discovering what real allyship looks like.

Authentic allyship comes down to asking yourself some key questions.

Questions like:

“How has my family benefitted from the past and present colonization and genocide of the original peoples of these lands?”

“How did my family gain access to originally Indigenous lands? What legacy does my family have in the role of colonization?” 

"How am I continuing to benefit from colonization today?”

Once this self-inquiry and self-responsibility takes place, true acts of reparation—coming from a place of honesty, integrity and self-discipline—can start. But these questions are just a starting point. Uncovering authentic allyship requires going deep within yourself, and also your family history.

Indigenous Peoples are continuing to suffer on their own lands due to the past—and present—practices of colonization and purpose-built systemic racism. Yet, many of us are thriving. Many of us are able to build ourselves up without help. We are creating beautiful, thriving families, despite everything colonization has done and is continuing to do to our people.

Without a doubt, we will continue to exist as long as we continue to live with our original laws and ways of life.

“Every day treat Indigenous Peoples kindly.”

On September 30, I hope you will vow to always treat everyone with that kindness.