Orange tulips will be sprouting at Harwin Elementary School next spring in honour of children who lost their lives at Canadian residential schools.
Since 215 unmarked children’s graves were confirmed at the former site of Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021, thousands of unmarked graves have been discovered at other residential school sites across the country.
A group of students planted the orange bulbs this morning (Nov. 1) in the flower beds lining Harwin’s school building, which will serve to recognize the children and families who’ve suffered because of residential schools when they bloom in the spring.
“We are planting orange tulips to represent the kids who didn’t make it home from residential school and how they treated them,” said grade six student Hailey-Mae.
“It feels good to be acknowledging something that happened, even though it should have been acknowledged back then, but I feel good that we are doing something now and we are representing what happened.”
Julia, also a grade six student, said it’s important to remember to respect people who may have suffered through residential schools.
“This is very important because they were taken from their families and forced to learn not their culture, which is very sad, and it is very important so we can all support them.”
Their classmate, Lily, said planting the flowers is a sign of respect and she’s looking forward to seeing it grow.
“I am looking forward to them growing because they are going to be beautiful and their colour will pop against the rest of the building and we will work hard to grow them, raise them, and protect them.”
The colour orange has been used as a symbol for the forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples since Phyllis Webstad began the campaign Orange Shirt Day on Sept. 30 in 2013 to raise awareness about the legacy of Canada’s residential school system.
Canada now recognizes Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Principal Linda McGraw said the history of residential schools and Truth and Reconciliation is something teachers are continually striving to make authentic within the school’s curriculum.
“I think it is important because the kids need to know what happened,” said McGraw.
“By planting the tulips it is an ongoing reminder so we know what the history is and we want our students to be moving forward making sure they remember, they honour, and they recognize.”
McGraw said while just a few students were doing the actual planting, the whole school has been talking about the orange tulips and will be looking forward to them sprouting in the spring.
She added that a lot of the students have family members who have been affected by residential schools.
“I had a parent call on Friday […] and said what a wonderful tribute it was, and they were a family that had been affected by residential schools,” said McGraw.
“It’s making sure that the students have that understanding and have that empathy knowing that wrongs were done, and we need to move forward and see what rights we can do to make up for it.”
An estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend federally funded, church-run residential schools for over a century where many suffered abuse and even death.
The residential school ran for over 120 years, with the last school closing in 1997.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school students and their families. If you are in need of counselling or support call the 24-hour national crisis line at 1-866-925-4419.
