A sea of orange overtook Standoff, Alta. on Friday as the community proudly wore shirts that read: “Every Child Matters.”
Looking to continue healing the wounds residential schools inflicted on Indigenous populations, the Blood Tribe said Orange Shirt Day is a much-needed event to continue reconciliation efforts after years of suffering.
READ MORE: Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report details atrocities of residential schools
“We’re recognizing Indian residential schools because it’s a major part of all of the First Nations people’s history,” said Verona Tail Feathers, a member of the Blood Tribe and organizer of the event.
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“It’s also a result of a lot of people that have trauma.”
It’s a tragic piece of history that one elder said still affects him to this day, even after years of attempting to overcome his trauma.
“It’s sad. I’m a sad man,” said Johnny Dayrider, “and I tend to be off alone and all my life I’ve been doing that since residential school.”
Besides the emotional scars Dayrider endured after being taken from his parents, the assimilation and loss of culture is another after-effect Indigenous populations are still facing, almost 50 years later.
“Our way of life was good,” Dayrider said. “We’re close to the spirit, we’re close to nature but all those things now are being pushed away.”
Orange Shirt Day was originally founded to commemorate the past after a child who was sent to a residential school was stripped from his orange shirt upon arrival.
However, now the day also stands for a sign of hope and celebration for a better future.
“We need to keep moving forward, keep trying and persevere,” Dayrider said.
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