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The 519
@the519

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September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We remember the more than 150,000 children taken between 1883 and 1997 and placed in residential schools across Canada. There, they were forced into manual labour, Christian religious indoctrination, physical and sexual abuse, and cultural assimilation. Many never returned home. Those who did struggled to identify with their community due to the cultural genocide done to them by the residential school system. These impacts have been far-reaching and spanning generations. We continue to see the effects of residential schools today on individuals, families, and communities. We are also in solidarity with the 20,000 Indigenous children taken from their families into foster care during the Sixties Scoop, the youth affected by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirit People crisis, and the Indigenous children who make up over 50% of youth in foster care today. 2 Spirit youth also hold a special place in Indigenous communities, as 2 Spirit folks have since ancient times. However, their place within community has not been without challenges. Colonization introduced the gender binary and allowed racism, homophobia, and transphobia to take root even within Indigenous communities. Embracing queer, trans, and 2 Spirit Indigenous youth and adults in community love is part of fighting colonialism. At residential school, Phyllis Webstad's favourite orange shirt was taken away from her. “The colour orange has always reminded me of how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared, and how I felt like I was worth nothing,” Phyllis reflects. Today, we wear orange as a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom, and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations. Children and youth are sacred, and allowing them to grow into their most authentic selves connected to their culture and safe, loving communities is an act of resistance. Every Child Matters. Yesterday, Today, and Always. #September30 #WeWearOrange #TruthAndReconciliation #EveryChildMatters