I sit down every Orange Shirt Day—I have about five of them which have been sent to me over time—and I absolutely love it. It's a day of remembering and understanding what's happened: what's happened to my mother, to our culture.
To me, June 21 is a day of rebirth, a day of a new season, a day of starting over. It's a day of celebration. It's a day about taking back what was lost. My culture was taken away from my mother in school. She was not allowed to talk about it. Our songs and dances were almost completely removed. Our art was destroyed. We're reclaiming it, and we're starting over.
I can't talk negatively about Orange Shirt Day, because I think it's very, very important. For me, it's about taking back what we've lost. It's about us standing up and rejoicing and being proud.
My mother was not proud to be indigenous. I grew up never talking about being indigenous. I was not proud to be indigenous. My children knew nothing about their heritage until I started getting involved. My union started having me facilitate courses around truth and reconciliation. I learned and I cried, and my mother cried.
Now my grandson is growing up being proud of being indigenous. He has his own set of regalia. We dance, we sing; we talk about the history.
For me, it's about starting over, about a new day, and being proud to be indigenous.
Thank you.