Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day is a day recognized in Canada on September 30^th to honour the survivors of residential schools. It is the product that came about from quite a dreadful reckoning of historical events that were hidden for many years. This day is officially known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day of remembrance is a difficult topic to discuss in music class. See below for some ideas to incorporate Orange Shirt Day in music class.

The Orange Shirt

A survivor of a residential school, Phyllis Webstad, gave an interview, telling of her experiences from this time. She recounted that prior to her relocation, her grandmother gifted her a brand new, orange t-shirt which Phyllis she had been very proud of. On her arrival, she was stripped of her clothing and never saw her orange shirt again. This came to reflect the stripped individuality and culture of the young pupils.

The last Canadian residential school closed in 1996. September 30th became the national day of Truth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation officially in 2021. I’ve had a number of Indigenous students in my school and have had amazing opportunities to hear firsthand about these events. It is so heartbreaking to listen to the things that they had to endure and continue to carry through generational trauma.

In the Music Room

In music, we begin by discussing different reasons that we use music: sports, entertainment, celebrations, etc. We realize together, that music is in many places surrounding us, from nature to the radio, and consumed daily. I ask the students a hypothetical question- what would it be like if we weren’t allowed to sing/dance/play instruments, etc. Given some of Hollywood’s latest productions (and here I’m thinking about the Mario movie), I see many light bulbs go off. The iconic Mario theme would never be played, if it existed at all. We wouldn’t have silly name games, we wouldn’t be able to sing Happy Birthday, or even use our voices/creative expression in the way we desired to. Music plays an integral role in culture.

Teaching Resources

Following this conversation, we read the book “Secret of the Dance” written by Andrea Spalding and Alfred Snow. The story follows a family that needs to sneak away to a secret location in order to participate in a traditional ceremony that the government declared illegal. The child narrating the story is very close to the age of my students which always seems to have quite the impact. Several of my students are Indigenous and one year, I had a grade 2 student tell his class all about Indigenous hoop dancing. He even taught us some of the steps! I personally do not have any Indigenous ancestry. When I have a student that is comfortable and willing, I will make space to let them teach the class about their own culture, which was suppressed through the Residential School system.

Another aspect of Indigenous culture that I love to show my students is hoop dancing. Their favorite hoop dancer is James Jones and known as “Notorious Cree” on social media. Here is one of the students’ favourite videos of him dancing.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qgI327GRXnY?playlist=qgI327GRXnY&autoplay=1&iv_load_policy=3&loop=1&modestbranding=1&start=1

Likewise, Deanne Hupfield is an Indigenous jingle dancer whose goal is to conserve and educate her culture. In her video, she teaches children several different jingle dance steps.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eI2gnTZh0-I?playlist=eI2gnTZh0-I&autoplay=1&iv_load_policy=3&loop=1&modestbranding=1&start=49

The History

European colonization of what became Canada began in the 16th century. Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of the new world. Upon landing in North America, a strange new land they thought to be empty, they met and began to trade with the current inhabitants. The settlers experienced wars, disease and the Canadian climate, often relying on the support of the local Indigenous peoples for survival.

In 1831, the first Residential School opened in Canada. Residential Schools were boarding schools that were created for Indigenous children to attend as part of a broader campaign of assimilation and destruction of Indigenous culture. From 1831 to 1996, more than 130 Residential Schools were endured by approximately 150 000 Indigenous children.¹ Attendance became mandatory in 1920.These schools were funded by the government and operated and staffed by churches. The intent of the Residential School system was to conform the attendants to the European way of living. The strategy was to destroy Indigenous culture and ways of life, be replaced by a system of settler-colonialism and exploitation that had benefit for only the Europeans. This meant the way they spoke, dressed, learned and all parts of life were to be reprogrammed into these children in an attempt to: “Kill the Indian in the child”. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission described the process as one of Cultural Genocide.²

The Aftermath

A key feature of this system saw many of these children kidnapped from their families to attend schools hundreds of kilometers away from their home. The goal was to break the link between child and parent, where the child could not return home. The living conditions and education delivered by these schools were both terrible. Children were overworked, crammed tightly together, malnourished, and received severe and unnecessary punishments as well as other forms of abuse from positions of authority. Naturally this forced the children to fight for their lives (see my post about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). Moreover, they were not allowed to communicate in their own languages or dress according to their culture. Children’s hair was cut, and they were sent into isolation away from their siblings.

These poor living conditions predictably lead to the demise of many children.³ While many children died physically (the NCTR counts the current confirmed number around 4100), many more were robbed of their childhood and formative years. Thousands of children went missing.⁴ In 2021, a First Nation in British Columbia announced 200 anomalies on a ground-penetrating radar scan of the grounds of a former Residential School, thought to hold the potential of graves of former students who died attending the school.⁵ This has reignited a national conversation about reconciliation, much hurt and anger nation-wide for these lost children, and many more across the country.⁶

Orange Shirt Day in the Music Room

Making space for my students, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to experience the joys of music is my opportunity to foster the reclamation of Indigenous culture. I alone cannot atone for the harms of the Residential School system, but engaging with these cultures in appropriate ways, across my and my students’ cultures, allows me to build a bridge and respond in kind to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. ⁷

Written in collaboration with Jayson Gislason.