The bright orange fabric covers the table in Jennifer Qupanuaq in the small office at May’s house in the suburb of Montreal of Pointe-Claire.
Inuk’s designer shows one of his handmade shirts in a mannequin, the letters on the back of the reading: “grandson of a residential school survivor.”
“I also did one for my daughter and she used it at school,” May recalled. “When teachers and staff read the back of their shirt, they realized that these children are in schools, in sight.”
May, a Kuujjuaq artist, in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec, has been designing orange shirts during the last four years. For her, work is deeply personal, and a way of provoking difficult but necessary conversations.
“I wanted to create a dialogue within the families around me,” he said. “Starting with the children, because this is where everything began.”
On September 30, the day of Orange’s shirt, officially recognized as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, encourages people from all over the country to use orange to honor indigenous children who attended residential schools and their families. But as the shirts become more available commercially, some fear that the powerful message behind them be diluted.
May, on the other hand, donates many of his shirts, but also sells some to cover his costs. Often, she receives help from her children.
“I could see in his eyes that this also meant a lot for them,” May.
From small juggers to large stores
The orange shirt itself comes from the history of Phyllis Webstad, who is northern Secwepemc of the first NSWECEM’C XGAT’TEM nation. On his first day at the residential school at age six in the 1970s, the new orange shirt that his grandmother had given him was stripped.
That moment has reached symbolize The greatest elimination of culture, language and identity inflicted on generations of indigenous children through the residential school system.
Orange Shirt Day is a time to remind children who never came home and survivors who live with trauma.
The day of the Orange shirt on September 30 honors indigenous children who were sent to residential schools and their families. The shirts are made by several indigenous artists and are also sold in the main retailers. But that has some questions if it has been marketed too much.
But what began as base designs of indigenous artists has now entered the mainstream. Orange shirts are widely available online and in the main retailers. For some, this expansion is worrisome.
Stephen Jerome, an artist from Mi’kmaw, says he feels that marketing runs the risk of emptying the symbol of its meaning.
“I see all these t -shirts of ‘All important children’ and I am like ‘What is an organization how it is making the death of the people of our first nations benefit?” asked.
May agrees. The artist said that she tells people to buy directly from indigenous artists or use a smooth orange shirt instead of one of a chain.
A broader scope
But others see mass production as a way to spread the message even more. The Orange Shirt, which webstad founded, has been associated with great retailers to increase visibility and raise funds.
“We want to collaborate with everyone,” said Simon Baker, representative of society. “It’s about spreading the word of the orange shirt to people who may not know history.”
The company says that the income of official associations goes to programs that support survivors and their families.
“We are here to teach, we are here to open these ways,” Baker said. “It was not heard for so long, but now we can talk about that and share.”
For May, the work of doing orange shirts remains a way of remembering, educating and honoring your community.
“I will probably do them until I can,” he emphasized.
And if the shirts are sewn in a small home study or are sold on the shelves of the department stores, the artists and survivors say that the message remains the same and should not be forgotten: each child matters.
