For Eilidh Tessier, a Grade 5 student at Port Elgin Regional School, learning about Canada’s residential schools was not just another history lesson.
“It changed me,” Tessier said after she took part in her school’s assembly for Orange Shirt Day this year by sharing a personal reflection.
At her previous school, Tessier mentioned that she hadn’t learned about the residential school system in Canada, which aimed to assimilate around 150,000 Indigenous children throughout its long history, resulting in nearly 6,000 deaths and leaving many families traumatized.
At Port Elgin Regional School, she has been discovering that history and the movements that emerged from it, such as Orange Shirt Day, which honors Indigenous children who were forced into residential schools.
This awareness has shaped how Tessier views her classmates.
“I learned I should give more empathy to others,” she said.
Grade 5 teacher Maria Beltz helps her students mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by teaching them some of the history of Canada’s residential school system. (Erica Butler/CBC)
Tessier’s teacher, Maria Beltz, guided her class in preparing a presentation for Orange Shirt Day during the school’s monthly assembly on Tuesday.
To get ready, Beltz shared the story of Phyllis Webstad, a survivor of the residential schools whose experiences inspired Orange Shirt Day.
“She was six years old when she went to a residential school for the first time,” recounted Beltz’s student Tenaya Dickson.
“Her grandmother bought her an orange shirt, but when she went to residential school, they took her orange shirt away,” she explained.
“Kids shouldn’t go to residential school and get hurt,” Dickson remarked. “They should go to school and actually learn about stuff.”
Students at Port Elgin Regional School drum and sing the Mi’kmaq Friendship Song at an assembly marking Orange Shirt Day. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
“It really affects the students greatly,” said Beltz.“It touches their hearts to know that children their age had to go through these horrible things … and that not everybody made it.”.
Beltz also highlighted inspiring stories from survivors like Webstad, emphasizing “the grit and strength they had to get through this.”
WATCH | ‘There is hope through education,’ teacher says:
Students mark Orange Shirt DayStudents at Port Elgin Regional School share their knowledge of Canada’s residential school legacy as part of an assembly ahead of Truth and Reconciliation Day.
class= ” paragraph – b 3 G x D h t m l – paragraph” Beltz mentioned hearing concerns from people worried about discussing such a “dark topic” like the residential school system with kids.
class= ” paragraph – b 3 G x D h t m l – paragraph” “I find just my students today show that yes you can learn something that is quite dark but also see hope in it and hold on to that hope” added Beltz.Beltz continued, “It also encourages them to take one step further by sharing what they’ve learned.”
class= ” paragraph – b 3 G x D h t m l – paragraph” For Tessier sharing her thoughts on Orange Shirt Day felt rewarding.
class= ” paragraph – b 3 G x D h t m l – paragraph” “I hope everybody learns about this,” said Tessier.
class= ” paragraph – b 3 G x D h t m l – paragraph” “And every child should feel mattered loved respected.”
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