Toronto Indigenous Residential School Survivors

Today we dance for all those who were taken away, and never made it home. W/ Kirby Buffalo & Kendra rosenchuk.

Humongous thanks to all the ppl that came out, Brighter Futures Coll , Muskowekwan Health, TCFS Prevention Tracy, Tonya, Darlene, great turnout !!!

For registration please email: [email protected] Ages 18-29

These are challenging times for all of us, but we remember who we are and keep going, shared Clayton Shirt at today’s Orange Shirt Day Honouring Ceremony. Documented via U of T Medicine during our live stream.

PDF Coloring pages available for download on my website https://www.urbaniskwew.com/coloring-pages ~EVERY CHILD MATTERS~ Available in English, Moose Cree, A...nishnaabemowin, Mi'kmaq and French SHARE FAR AND WIDE Orange shirt day is September 30th share~print~distribute #coloringpage #everychildmatters #artworkbyhawlii #urbaniskwew #children #orangeshirtday See more

#OrangeShirtDay is just one day, but we live with that trauma every day. - Rosary Spence Documented via U of T Medicine during our live stream.

My beautiful Aunty

Residential School Mask (1993) The outer mask representing a adult, opens to reveal the child crying within. We should never forget our history, even the difficult memories.

Orange Shirt Day Removal of children from homes Removal from nature Removal from culture... Removal from Language, customs and practice Removal from everything they have ever known Removal from love I cannot think of the pain and horror of those lost and those who survived Without tears welling up, without anger entering my heart Tears are cleansing so we do not deny them But we rise above the anger because your treatment of us in the past cannot control us today That was the very intent of the residential school system To control us, to take away who we are And it did not work then and it will not work now Today and every day we remember who we are Today and every day we remember those stolen Today and every day we remember those who never returned Today and every day we remember those who lived through the residential school system And those who live through it still Giima R. Stacey Laforme

This video clip is from "05 Wounded Knee" on YouTube. https://youtu.be/DgKJ6UTRMJ4 I recommend you watch the whole video. Ahéhee'

Kidnapped by an Indian agent and by an Oblat priest at the early of 6 years old put in the back of a pick up truck with other kids that had been picked up and ...driven all the way up to Cochrane Ont. and put on a train to Moosinee and put on a plane to fly across James Bay to attend the Fort George Romain Catholic Residential School . Once arrived at school , cut my hair and put a tie on me to try to get the Anishnabe out of me which I'm happy to say it did not work for them cause I can still speak my Anishnabe language and know Anishnabe cultural. This is just to make my long story short . See more

"Our children are now being taught the culture, & can express their identity without fear of punishment. This painting is a reminder to our own people of the st...ruggles of our ancestors & a reminder to others to never again do this to any people." - David Kanietakeron Fadden (Mohawk) (quote and photo are made by the same person) See more

A solemn ceremony was held on Monday in Gatineau to honour children who died while attending Canada's residential schools. Their names were made public for the first time on a large red banner. MORE: www.cbc.ca/1.5302955

Stolen generations. And we were on the train, gee, for about four days, I think, something like that. And the more people they picked up, the more squished we ...all became in, inside the train, and we were packed in like a bunch of sardines. There was kids laying around on the floor, all along in, in where the walkway was supposed to be. And I could hear really lots of crying all the time, crying, crying, crying. I could hear a baby crying about the second day, so I start looking, and I found this little one in the corner. There was a whole bunch of kids around. I don’t know if they were alive or whatever, you know. I picked him up, anyway, and I remember packing him around. I lost the space that I was sitting at. So, I was walking around. I was lucky I had a coat. I took my coat off, I remember holding him, sitting, holding him, looking at his face. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink. I couldn’t give him anything. Sphenia Jones on her trip to an Alberta residential school from Haida Gwaii, off the coast of British Columbia. Photograph Title - "ARRIVAL AT THE SCHOOLS, NOW, YOU ARE NO LONGER INDIANS", 1953. Native girls being transported by truck to Gordon’s Residential school in Saskatchewan. Gordon’s was one of the last federally run native residential schools to exist in Canada, it closed in 1996. The General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada. See more

My Tótah Atyà:kta-kenha ran away from the Mohawk Institute three times before age nine. Each time he was returned to the residential school where he faced years... of molestation by a teacher who would be found guilty posthumously and never spend a day in prison. For decades Indigenous children across Canada and the USA ran from schools, just wanting to go home. Their parents were arrested as punishment if the children ran. For generations families were told that because of their Indian blood, their children's upbringing was not their concern, right or responsibility. Many children died of exposure across isolated plains, forests and railway tracks as they tried to find home. A residential school survivor survived in many ways. My Tótah is an ancestor today. I am alive because he survived. My favourite time of day is the morning when my baby lies in bed beside me; smiling and telling me to wake up. He giggles and grabs at my cheeks. Our mornings are gentle. Motherhood has brought gentleness to my life. What would it be like to have no right to care for my child? To be told he/she/they will never come home? I go to sleep at night just so I can wake up to my gentle Sakarakhotáhsi. I cried often during my conceptualization. My design is a pair of small children’s moccasins walking among strawberry fields. Haudenosaunee are told the journey to the Skyworld along the Milky Way is strewn with strawberries that Skywoman uprooted when she fell through a hole in the sky. In our Baby Naming Ceremony we are told that every child arrives with gifts and talents. Because they are babies their gifts are a mystery. It is our responsibility to give them a good life and witness their gifts come to fruition. The moccasins in my piece are beaded with 24K gold but the vamp faces are left blank. The gifts of those precious lost children will always be a mystery. Those children just wanted to go home. Tótah just wanted to go home. Every child went home in the end; but it wasn’t always to their mother’s arms. I hope the Creator will cradle them in place of their mothers, and may their journeys be gentle. See more

Every Child Matters: Reconciliation - Act One #OrangeShirtDay is available now! Watch it here or on the APTN National News page.

Good morning. Today we remember, today we heal. #orangeshirtday #residentialschools

Today is Orange Shirt Day. Every year, on September 30th we honour Residential School Survivors and their families, and remember those who did not make it. Oran...ge Shirt Day was inspired by the story of Phyllis Webstad, a Residential School Survivor. At the age of 6, Phyllis attended her first day of Residential School wearing her brand new "shiny orange shirt" bought by her grandmother. When Phyllis arrived at school, her shirt was taken away. For many years, Phyllis associated the colour orange with the sentiment that she did not matter. Overtime, Phyllis learned to accept the colour, and even enjoy it. Today, the Orange Shirt has become a powerful symbol of hope, truth, and reconciliation. By wearing an orange shirt on this day, we recognize the harm that residential schools inflicted on Indigenous communities. By wearing an orange shirt, we make the powerful statement that EVERY CHILD MATTERS.

Today is Orange Shirt Day where we reflect on the impact of residential schools and the healing journey for survivors and their families. Gord’s commitment to l...asting reconciliation is an example we should all follow. IG Wealth Management will be holding a special event this afternoon for Orange Shirt Day at 3pm to honour this day. Mike Downie will be speaking, as well as a special performance from singer/songwriter William Prince. For every person that signs up and attends the presentation (free of charge), IG Wealth will donate $20 to the Downie Wenjack Fund. Click the link below to register: https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet