Let’s Wear An Orange Shirt.
As Canadians, we see ourselves as friendly, nice. It’s painful to accept that in the past our ancestors supported governments that chose evil. From 1831, before Confederation, until 1996, our government established and funded “Indian Residential Schools.” The goal of these schools was to “wipe the Indian out of the child.” That goal was inhumane and cruel. The dominant religious denominations, including our United Church of Canada, ran those schools. In them, children were scarred for life. Many died, diseased, malnourished or fleeing in terror. Every time I think about those precious children my heart aches. The effects of those schools will be felt in Canada by some, even all of us for many years to come.
We had freely chosen to close our hearts to a God of love even as we walked to church or knelt to pray. I am sure that God wept and wept and wept an ocean of tears during those years. Even today, although the schools are closed, the government policy changed, there are still Canadian citizens who do not respect, accept or want to care for our Indigenous people recovering from atrocities committed in our names.
This Sunday, September 28, worshipping Canadians are encouraged to wear “Orange Shirts,” captioned “Every Child Matters,” symbolizing the pain and agony experienced by the indigenous children taken from their homes and sequestered in these schools.
The orange shirt symbol is rooted in the story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, a member of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation. She was stripped of a new orange shirt, a last gift from her grandmother, on her first day at a residential school. She was traumatized at age six by this forced break in connection to her Indigenous family. We now remember her experience by wearing orange shirts, that no child will ever again bear such humiliation.
The United Church, in 1998, offered a formal apology to First Nations people as a preliminary step in the process of reconciliation. Since then, other churches and the government of Canada have also given formal apologies. Words alone, however, cannot wipe away this horror in our history. Actions and time can heal if we all are willing, all of us, to accept that it happened and work together. When we choose to follow the way of a loving God, healing will come, eventually. Harmony and peace will be restored. Many Canadians have chosen to walk this path. For that I am encouraged.
I recommend each one of you who read this, to wear an orange shirt all day this Sunday. Make this small act a part of your walk on your journey to reconciliation.
What follows is the formal apology.
“As Moderator of The United Church of Canada, I wish to speak the words that many people have wanted to hear for a very long time. On behalf of the United Church of Canada, I apologize for the pain and suffering that our church’s involvement in the Indian Residential School system has caused. We are aware of some of the damage that this cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation has perpetrated on Canada’s First Nations peoples. For this we are truly and most humbly sorry.
“To those individuals who were physically, sexually, and mentally abused as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology. You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused.
“We know that many within our church will still not understand why each of us must bear the scar, the blame for this horrendous period in Canadian history. But the truth is, we are the bearers of many blessings from our ancestors, and therefore, we must also bear their burdens.”
Our burdens include dishonouring the depths of the struggles of First Nations peoples and the richness of your gifts. We seek God’s forgiveness and healing grace as we take steps toward building respectful, compassionate, and loving relationships with First Nations peoples.
We are in the midst of a long and painful journey as we reflect on the cries that we did not or would not hear, and how we have behaved as a church. As we travel this difficult road of repentance, reconciliation, and healing, we commit ourselves to work toward ensuring that we will never again use our power as a church to hurt others with attitudes of racial and spiritual superiority.
“We pray that you will hear the sincerity of our words today and that you will witness the living out of our apology in our actions in the future.”
The Right Rev. Bill Phipps
General Council Executive 1998
The United Church of Canada