'It's a slap in the face': Winnipeg students given white shirt to wear instead of marking Orange Shirt Day

A Winnipeg family is upset after their child's school sent home a white shirt to wear on Thursday for the school's 100th anniversary, rather than an orange one to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Daniel Johnson says his daughter is struggling with what to wear to school Thursday – a day when typically students and staff would wear an orange shirt to support the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as Friday is a day off.

However Johnson says Windsor School sent home a white shirt recognizing the school's 100th anniversary instead. Students were given the choice this Thursday to wear either the white shirt for the anniversary or an orange one of their own.

"She doesn't know. She cried to my wife this morning. She feels very confused and conflicted on what her choice is," said Johnson. "To put this together and put a celebration with this recognition that they've decided to put, I think it's a slap in the face."

Windsor School Principal Darren Baker says Truth and Reconciliation learning will be incorporated into Sept. 29 schedule, and orange ribbons will be there for students to wear.

"We don't think of it as one day or one event. We want it to be ongoing and a deep learning process," Baker told CTV News.

The school consulted with Louis Riel School Division's Indigenous education team about what the day should look like.

"We had a lot of conversations about what is this opportunity really about, and it's an opportunity to not only recognize 100 years of the school but how do we move forward for the next 100 years," said Bobbie-Jo Leclair, the school division's vice-principal of Indigenous education.

Johnson said there is a whole year to celebrate the school's anniversary, and he doesn't believe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation should be paired up with anything else.

"It makes us feel like they don't truly understand what the orange shirt represents," he said.

According to the Orange Shirt Society, the orange shirt's purpose is to recognize of the harm the residential school system did to children's sense of self-esteem and well-being.

The orange shirt itself comes from the story of Phyllis Webstad, who wore an orange shirt gifted to her by her grandmother on her first day of residential school, only to have it taken away.

SCHOOL APOLOGIZES FOR SHIRTS

Darren Baker, principal at Windsor School, sent a statement on Tuesday, apologizing for the decision to provide the white shirts.“Though the planning committee felt it was important that each student receive a “memento” for the day, we see now that providing a t-shirt in a colour other than orange for students to wear on September 29, a day reserved for recognizing Orange Shirt Day in schools, created harm in our community,” Baker said. “Please accept this apology.”

In his statement, Baker said the intention behind the shirts was to create a sense of belonging and community, but after listening to other voices in the community, “our actions accomplished the opposite.

“In choosing September 29 for our 100th celebration, we wanted the day to be an opportunity to reflect on our past but also to look towards how we can reconcile and do better in the next 100 years,” he said. “While we consulted with staff and community, members of our Indigenous Education Team and others in the planning of this day, there were voices missing that have come forward to shine an important light on some of our oversights.”

Baker added he was “grateful” for the community members who spoke out.

 

“They have shared a perspective that we didn’t consider and an opportunity to broaden our learning,” he said.