Phyllis Jack Webstad is a Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) author from the

Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation The Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, formerly known as Canoe Creek Band/Dog Creek Indian Band, created as a result of merger of the Canoe Creek Band and Dog Creek Band is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations government of the Secwepemc (Shuswa ...

, and the creator of Orange Shirt Day, a day of remembrance marked in Canada later instated as the public holiday of

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation The Truth and Reconciliation Day (french: Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation), originally and still colloquially known as Orange Shirt Day (french: Jour du chandail orange), is a Canadian statutory holiday to recognize the legacy ...

. She is a First Nations residential school survivor. She has written multiple books, including a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

depicting her experience with the Indian residential school system.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

The inspiration for the Canadian public holiday National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, originally called Orange Shirt Day, came from Webstad, who shared her story at a St. Joseph Mission (SJM) Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion event held in Williams Lake, British Columbia, in April 2013. Webstad recounted her first day of residential schooling at six years old, when she was stripped of her clothes, including the new orange shirt her grandmother bought her, which was never returned. The orange shirt now symbolizes how the residential school system attempted to take away the Indigenous identities of children. It is held annually on September 30 as a national day of remembrance in Canadian communities, where people are encouraged to wear an orange shirt. It was elevated to a statutory holiday for federal employees by the Canadian government in 2021. Orange Shirt Day exists as a legacy of the SJM Project, and September 30 signifies the time of year when Indigenous children were historically taken from their homes to residential schools. The official tagline of the day, "Every Child Matters", reminds Canadians that all peoples' cultural experiences are important. In addition to simply wearing an orange shirt, Canadians are encouraged to learn more about the history of residential schools and their

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture *Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs **Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...

practices, drawing from Phyllis' experience in particular. For instance, many communities have held memorial walks, film screenings, and public lectures to raise awareness about Indigenous history. Accordingly, school boards across Canada have begun to use this event to teach children about the historic system. She is profiled in Sean Stiller's 2021 documentary film '' Returning Home''. Phyllis was granted an honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from Simon Fraser University on October 6th, 2023.

Books

*''The Orange Shirt Story'' (2018) - *''Phyllis's Orange Shirt'' (2019) - *''With Our Orange Hearts'' (2022) - *''Every Child Matters'' (2023) -

Personal life

Early life

Webstad is Northern Secwepemc (Shuswap) from the

and was born on Dog Creek Reserve, near

Williams Lake, British Columbia Williams Lake is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo. Williams Lake is the second largest city, by population of metropolitan area, in the Cariboo after neighbouring Quesnel. ...

Adulthood

Phyllis Webstad is married, and has one son, a step-son and five grandchildren. She had her son in grade 8.

References

External links

orangeshirtday.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webstad, Phyllis Living people 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women memoirists 21st-century Canadian memoirists 21st-century First Nations writers First Nations women writers Writers from British Columbia 1967 births Indigenous Canadian women