A sea of orange filled Vilna School’s gymnasium on Friday, as the school once again held an afternoon ceremony recognizing Orange Shirt Day.
A tipi stood large at the front of the school, while inside, a Cree prayer and smudging took place, followed by the singing of the national anthem in Cree. In an afternoon filled with ceremony, including traditional dances, jingle dances and grass dances, the students honoured the meaning of Orange Shirt Day, to remember the history of those who lived in Indian Residential Schools, and to reiterate that “Every Child Matters.”
Teacher Erin Halonen noted that Vilna School proudly sat on Treaty 6 land, and acknowledged all the First Nations, Metis and Inuit people “whose footsteps have marked this land for centuries.”
She noted she had graduated in 1995, at which time residential schools were still open. “So it’s not ancient history.”
Students watched a short but powerful video explaining the origins of Orange Shirt Day, started because of a First Nations girl whose orange shirt, her individuality, was taken from her on attending Indian Residential School. The video noted that the odds of surviving a residential school was 1 in 25, worse than the odds of surviving World War II, at 1 in 26.
One of those survivors was Saddle Lake’s Louise McGilvery, who was on hand to share her personal experience of being taken to residential school at the age of five, and seeing the imposing Blue Quills building loom above her.
“I was scared; I cried,” she said, as she wiped away tears. “I had nobody to tell me it’s going to be OK.”
She recalled not being able to talk to – or even look at – her sister in the same school, and over time, resenting her parents for not resisting the residential school experience. She described how many of the students from her class have since passed on, while others who had been through residential schools turned to drinking to numb the pain. However, for her, she found a salve in ceremony and encouraged students to do the same.
“Find yourself, find yourself in your culture, find yourself in your family – that’s what counts,” she said.
McGilvery and others that spoke thanked Vilna School for hosting the day, with McGilvery saying, “Thank you for recognizing us as equals, thank you for recognizing as persons.”
