Orange Shirt Day – September 30, 2024

By Kaniehtonkie.

Carolyn Francis, one of the many organizers of Orange Shirt Day, stepped outside her role of

emcee and shared a personal story of her father. Carolyn's father was taken away and

place in an 'orphanage' at the age of six, not long after his mother had passed away. That

'orphanage' was much like residential schools at the time, lack of food, poor clothing, and not

much in the way of educating their wards.

Her father would tell her stories of how he was treated there, and like many residential

school survivors, he never went into details – just a longing for things that never happened and

for what did happen while being away from his father and his siblings. He was never allowed to

return home for several years. No phone calls, no visits, and no toys.

While her father was at the orphanage, he dreamed of receiving a red radio flyer wagon for

Christmas, or maybe even his birthday – but it never came. Neither did a birthday cake or

birthday presents. No Christmas presents, except for the year they received a bar of soap, a

towel and a piece of fruit for Christmas.

Years later, when Carolyn had grown, married and had children of her own, she realized fully

what her father had experienced at the orphanage – the loneliness, the distance from being

from his family, the loss of language and connection to his community. She knew her father

as a great man – kind, compassionate and generous. She realized he had overcome his traumatic

childhood. She also knew what he needed – a red radio flyer wagon.

Carolyn and her husband John gifted her father a red wagon and he loved it dearly; pulling

his grandchildren around the yard, carrying flowers for his wife and enjoying a gift that was a

symbol of what he was deprived of long ago but wouldn't let it change him. He rose above it.

And on September 30, we rise above the abuse, the neglect, the starvation and remember those

children who never returned home from residential schools, orphanages, and 'homes' meant to

separate Native children from their families and communities.

On September 30th and everyday forward, we will celebrate the resilience of residential school

survivors and their families. We have broken the cycle of their horror upon us.

Nationally, September 30th is recognized as the Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day dedicated to remembering the heartbreaking legacy of residential schools that forced over 150,000 First

Nations, Métis, and Inuit children to attend residential schools between the 1870s and the 1990s.

This date also coincides with Orange Shirt Day, an event celebrated annually since September

30, 2013, inspired by Phyllis Webstad's experience. On her first day at residential school, the

new orange shirt she was wearing was taken from her and never returned. As a result, wearing

orange shirts on the last day of September has become a symbol of the loss of culture, self-

esteem, and freedom endured by Indigenous communities due to the residential school system

over the years.

Through a committed and varied committee from Akwesasne and Cornwall, the Mohawk

Council of Akwesasne, in collaboration with the Native North American Travelling College, the

City of Cornwall, Children's Aid Society, and Akwesasronon Sonatanoron, invited "the

community to join for a day of reflection, learning, and cultural celebration in honor of Orange

Shirt Day."

The event included Akwesasne Freedom School students reciting the Ohenton Karihwatehkwen – a direct affirmation of our long journey to healing and reclaiming our language, our traditions and our community.

Guest speaker Phil Fontaine said, "Many residential schools that never made it home, and in

many cases, unknown where they were buried. For example, the 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops, British Columbia that caused the eyes of the world to turn on our situation here in this country and that there are strong possibilities that there were other such sites. So, events like this one are incredibly important because they bring attention to these unresolved issues of unmarked graves, about the ongoing resolution of abuse that was inflicted on our children, and it speaks to the determination of our people to seek justice, in fact, to achieve justice for our people.

He went on to say, "Congratulations. I wish all of you great success in this, not only

commemoration, but a celebration of our tremendous resiliency as the first peoples in this land."

Stories of resilience was shared Carolyn Francis and Dean George.

Waylon Cook and Elvera Sargent, representatives of the Akwesasne Freedom School shared the story of the AFS' Kanien'kehá language revitalization school and its newest project of build a safe, and more accommodating school building for AFS students. Rick Oakes, Director of Akwesasne Sonatanoron, "Today we are honoring the

survivors for the strength, courage, and resilience for the many hardships they endured,

especially as very young children. They are an inspiration to their families, their communities

and most importantly to our youth today. The survivors had to overcome many hardships and

they are still here. We honor them today and every day."

Carolyn said, "A special 'Niawen' goes to all our volunteers that helped with the event and the community people from Akwesasne and Cornwall, our talented Akwesasne artists, National Film Board, Kinnettes, OPG, and the schools who allowed their school children to attend. And all of the vendors who shared information and shared support in some way. We appreciate you!"

She added, "Going forward...the collaboration that we had this year has been great. There were more organizations and people stepping forward to assist and volunteer this year."

The organizing committee consisted of MCA Akwesasne Representative and Advocacy Program, and the Akwesasne Child and Family Services, the City of Cornwall, Children's Aid Society of SD&G, North Native Traveling College, and Akwesasne Sonatanoron.

Sponsors of the Orange Shirt Day were the Kinnette Club, East End Auto & Construction, the Summer Heights Golf Course and the Ontario Power Generation Inc.