“To deny the right to wear orange to block the voices of those who wish to spread understanding, is to stand on the wrong side of history.” That, from Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations 4th Vice Chief Craig McCallum, in response to two women from the Saskatchewan Justice Unit in Meadow Lake being sent home to change on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation because they were wearing orange shirts. McCallum said at a press conference today (Fri) that it is unacceptable that our provincial justice system refuses to recognize the significance of Orange Shirt Day. He believes wearing orange makes a powerful statement that you remember, you stand with those who have suffered, so he questions what the message to employees in the justice system in this instance. McCallum suggests making the women change was an act of dismissal and disrespect of the truth and it sends the message that the trauma of Indigenous people can be swept aside and forgotten.

The FSIN and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council are calling for the province to make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial statutory holiday. FSIN Vice Chief David Pratt says he is embarrassed that Saskatchewan is one of the provinces that doesn’t officially recognize September 30th as a stat holiday. He adds, “But yet we have a Premier who can wear an orange shirt, but refuses to acknowledge the pain and the suffering of not only the people who have passed on, but the people who are sitting in this room.”

MLTC Vice Chief Richard Derocher says the actions of the Justice Unit in Meadow Lake sends a message that the suffering from residential schools is being ignored by the provincial government. He told those attending the news conference, most of them wearing orange shirts, that his message was going to be more of a gut reaction to the incident, but the Elders told him to speak with respect for all, which is one of their traditional teachings. When he heard about the incident, he was frustrated. “Our brothers and sisters not understanding us, not understanding what this orange shirt means to us, not understanding the hurts that our people went through.” He says anger is not the way, and instead he hopes to use this as a chance for education on the importance of the day. The Meadow Lake Tribal Council and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations are also urging that there be an investigation into the incident and for the necessary steps to be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

In an email statement, the Justice Ministry says it is unable to speak to specific government policies or programs during the writ period leading up to the provincial election.