*TRIGGER WARNING ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL CHILDREN*
Hey, do you know what day it is today?
That’s right, 30th of September which means it’s “Orange Shirt Day”!
What? You don’t know what this day means? We’ll allow me to tell you!
“Orange Shirt Day”, otherwise known as “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation”, is a Canadian statutory holiday that was created back in 2013, in order to educate people about the ‘Indian Residential School System’ and spread awareness about the Cultural Genocide that took place in them.
They stole the children from their families, placed them in these Schools and took away their Native culture with the last ‘Residential School’ closing in 1996. The ‘Indian Residential School System’ lived by the phrase “Kill the Indian, save the child” and they did this by any means of violence.
The children there would experience verbal, physical and sexual abuse as punishments for as long as they were forced to live there. Thousands of children died in these Schools…
And who was the mastermind behind these atrocities? Well, Catholic Church is to blame, with the Canadian and US government. Not the first or last time they’ve tried to harm the Natives.
All this has caused tremendous generational trauma for Natives no matter the Tribe. Up till today, more that 5.279 children’s skeletons have been found in unmarked graves in many of these Schools and people are sure there will be unfortunately more to be found.
So please, remember this day and learn more about how help. Show your support, talk about what has happened, sign petitions, donate if you can, and spread awareness about it! (Don’t forget the trigger warnings!)
Every Child Matters