‘We knew there were graves’: school survivor

As a six-year-old, Phyllis Webstad arrived at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., wearing a new orange shirt given to her by her grandmother.

The shirt, and the rest of the young girl’s clothing, were taken from her on that first day.

Today, Webstad stands as a survivor of the residential school system where 150,000 Indigenous children were made to attend remote boarding schools away from their families and communities. The goal of the schools was to strip away Indigenous culture and force assimilation into the settler way of life.

Webstad now raises awareness of what went on at residential schools. 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 been attending a series of events leading up to the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation/orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30.

When the first announcements were made concerning the discovery of unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C., what were your immediate thoughts as a residential school survivor?

A: This was my nation. We knew there were graves. It was as if it was our family and they had just died. We were in a tailspin for two weeks. We were in crisis, not able to think what to do or where to go. We turned to our culture. All our communities started lighting fires. I needed to go to Kamloops where my mother, children and grandchildren live go see if they were OK.

With an apology finally coming from the Catholic Church, what is the next step?

A: I’ve heard people say there should be compensation. I don’t agree with that. Someone (the church) needs to fund language training. Our languages are dying. After school or on lunch hours on weekends is not good enough. It needs to be treated as a job, Monday to Friday, learning our languages. I’m 55; I could probably be fluent in no time.

When it comes to fulfilling calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, how do you see progress being made?

A: The truth comes first. The truth has not been fully told. One day, more truth will come out and it will shock Canadians. At the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation Survivors’ Circle ... it took 150 years to tear us down and it will take 150 years to build us back up. It won’t happen in my lifetime, my children’s or grandchildren’s lifetime. Maybe for our great-grandchildren.

How can Canadians learn to better understand the intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous people?

A: Learn whose territory you live in. Was there a residential school there? Was it torn down? Where are the survivors? Are they willing to talk? Learn about what happened. Many have stories to tell.

The onus is not all on Indigenous people. Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, read the calls to action. Read the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report. Attend events where survivors are speaking.