[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ module_class=”blue-intro invert insight-section” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#002c38″ background_enable_image=”off” background_size=”contain” background_position=”bottom_center” background_vertical_offset=”-60%” custom_padding=”||||false|false” top_divider_color=”#002c38″ top_divider_height=”66%” bottom_divider_height=”24%” bottom_divider_repeat=”1x” bottom_divider_arrangement=”above_content” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_slider _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_slide _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/pourquoipascoaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1633003267195.jpg” background_enable_image=”on” custom_padding=”35%||25%||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”][\/et_pb_slide][\/et_pb_slider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”50px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The story of the orange t-shirt in Canada begins \u2013 but does not end \u2013 with Phyllis Webstad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phyllis was born on Dog Creek Reserve and is from the Stswecem\u2019c Xgat\u2019tem First Nation.\u00a0Her family didn\u2019t have much money, but her grandmother managed to buy her new clothing for school.\u00a0Phyllis carefully chose an orange t-shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her orange t-shirt was particularly meaningful because it was gifted from her grandmother \u2013 the woman who was raising her.\u00a0It represented family, home, love, trust, respect, safety, and security\u2026 All the things we need and crave as human beings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1973, Phyllis entered the residential school system at the age of 6 \u2013 \u201ca 300 day sleepover\u201d as she describes it but there, on that first day, she was stripped of all her possessions \u2013 including her orange t-shirt and with it, her sense of self-worth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the beginning (and the continuation) of a process that violated children and families, and robbed them of the fundamentals of life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over 130 federally funded and church-run residentials schools across Canada were attended by more than 150,000 Indigenous children who were \u201cscooped\u201d from their homes and families.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The goal, as expressed by Canada\u2019s then first prime minister was to \u201ctake the Indian out of the child\u201d, and thus began the deliberate process of forced assimilation and cultural genocide that created nothing short of intergenerational trauma amongst Indigenous Peoples.<\/p>\n
Fast forward, Phyllis \u2013 the grown woman \u2013 tells us that,<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201c…the feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my very first day at school affected the way I lived my life for many years\u2026\u00a0The losses of family, culture, freedom, parenting, self-esteem, and worth were experienced by everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many children died of illness, lack of care and worse, negligence and abuse (physical, psychological, emotional and sexual); and we are now uncovering countless unmarked graves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those who did survive, returned to their home communities without the knowledge, tools or skills to cope in either world. The impacts of their institutionalization in residential school continue to be felt by subsequent generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maggie Hodgson, in Impact of Residential Schools and Other Root Causes of Poor Mental Health, summarizes the cumulative impact of the loss of parenting knowledge and skills across generations like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you subject one generation to that kind of parenting and they become adults and have children; those children become subjected to that treatment and then you subject a third generation to a residential school system, the same as the first two generations.<\/p>\n
You have a whole society affected by isolation, loneliness, sadness, anger, hopelessness, and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so, why the orange t-shirt?\u00a0It is anchored in Phyllis’ story. It is a symbol of the devastation and trauma experienced by Indigenous children, their families and communities.\u00a0It is also a powerful reminder that every child matters.<\/p>\n
I have said it here before.\u00a0To be whole, our country needs truth and reconciliation – real and meaningful reconciliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
RECONCILIATION means recognizing how Indigenous Peoples have been traumatically and systemically harmed and disadvantaged on so many levels through intergenerational cycles \u2013 cycles that persist to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
RECONCILIATION is about acknowledging on a grand scale the devastation caused by Canada as a colonizing nation. It is about apologizing and taking the necessary steps to redress past transgressions and establish a respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n
RECONCILIATION is a collective endeavour, a collective responsibility. It means recognizing what Indigenous Peoples across the country have had to endure and what they have lost \u2013 and what they continue to endure to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
RECONCILIATION is also an individual responsibility.\u00a0Learn, grow and understand with an open mind and an open heart, compassion and empathy.<\/p>\n
What will you do today, on this first annual Truth and Reconciliation Day?<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”THUMBS” module_class=”aos-fade-up program-outer” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_module=”1734″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row make_equal=”on” module_class=”aos-fade-up m-row thumbs” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”100%” max_width=”1000px” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”30px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_dpfilterable_blog include_categories=”15,16″ include_tags=”15,16″ thumbnail_size=”2048×2048″ show_categories=”off” show_excerpt=”on” show_more=”on” show_more_text=”READ MORE” fullwidth=”off” admin_label=”NEW THUMBS” module_class=”progam-thumbs” _builder_version=”4.17.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_dpfilterable_blog][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The story of the orange t-shirt in Canada begins \u2013 but does not end \u2013 with Phyllis Webstad.\u00a0 Phyllis was born on Dog Creek Reserve and is from the Stswecem\u2019c Xgat\u2019tem First Nation.\u00a0Her family didn\u2019t have much money, but her grandmother managed to buy her new clothing for school.\u00a0Phyllis carefully chose an orange t-shirt.\u00a0 Her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-1877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights","tag-publications"],"yoast_head":"\n