The Orange Shirt Story
by Phyllis Webstad & Brock Nicol
Description:
Publisher's description (Medicine Wheel Education, 2018):
When Phyllis Webstad (nee Jack) turned six, she went to the residential school for the first time. On her first day at school, she wore a shiny orange shirt that her Granny had bought for her, but when she got to the school, it was taken away from her and never returned. This is the true story of Phyllis and her orange shirt. It is also the story of Orange Shirt Day (an important day of remembrance for First Nations and non First Nations Canadians).
Author and illustrator biographies (https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/ and https://www.brocknicolart.com/about):
Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). She comes from mixed Secwepemc and Irish/French heritage, was born in Dog Creek, and lives in Williams Lake, BC. Today, Phyllis is married, has one son, a stepson and five grandchildren. She is the Founder and Ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society, and tours the country telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system. She has now published two books, the “Orange Shirt Story” and “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt” for younger children.
She earned diplomas in Business Administration from the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology; and in Accounting from Thompson Rivers University. Phyllis received the 2017 TRU Distinguished Alumni Award for her unprecedented impact on local, provincial, national and international communities through the sharing of her orange shirt story.
Brock Nicol is an Ottawa, Ontario based full-time professional illustrator with a passion for realism in art. The youngest of 7 children (and twin brother to Barry), Brock was born and raised in Ottawa where he began the pursuit of art at a very early age. He graduated from the Graphic Design/Illustration program at Algonquin College and subsequently began a career as a freelance illustrator.
Resource format: Picturebook
Age recommendation: grades 3-9
Keywords: residential school, survivors, orange shirt day, Every Child Matters, Williams Lake, St. Joseph Mission, history, reconciliation, crying month, Dog Creek Reserve, Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Fraser River, fish, drying rack, lonely, hugs, school, excitement, trip, restaurant, love, Granny, scared, cold, unfriendly, nuns, 300 sleeps, haircut, shower, cry, sad, Bus, public school, read, write, waiting, unfair, inequality, hunger, return, caring, family love,
Year of publication: 2018
Publisher information: Medicine Wheel Education
Teaching and Learning Ideas
Our team collaborated with new teachers, alumni of the Werklund School of Education’s Bachelor of Education program, to create teaching and learning plans for texts in this website. With audiences ranging from Pre-Kindergarten to Post-Secondary, lesson plans across this resource address a wide range of school subject areas, inclusive approaches, and Indigenous education topics, such as the revitalization of Indigenous languages. As this website was designed with Undergraduate Programs in Education instructors, as well as teachers in mind, connections to UPE courses have been flagged on each lesson plan. These lessons are intended as a starting place for educators, to help you envision ways in which you might bring Indigenous literatures, as well as ways of knowing, being, and doing, into your teaching contexts. Please adapt, use, and share these lessons in ways that are generative for your teaching practice. We offer our sincere thanks to the dozens of new teachers who gifted us with these creative ideas!