Grandmothers Voices

Today we wear orange not as a fashion, but as a prayer, as remembrance, as a stand for truth. Each shirt we put on carries the voices of our children — awâsisak — who were taken from their homes, stripped of their language, and made to feel small in places that were supposed to teach but instead inflicted silence and pain.

The color orange carries the story of one little girl who had her shirt taken away at a residential school, and with it, her sense of worth. Today, that orange is reclaimed as a banner of love, resilience, and survival.

When we wear orange, we say: every child matters. We honor those who never came home, we lift prayers for their families, and we walk with the survivors whose hearts still carry those memories. This is not just a day of sorrow, but of strength — because our languages are still spoken, our drums still sound, and our children are still here, laughing, growing, carrying forward the fire.

So let us wear orange with intention. Let it remind us that healing is not only for Indigenous Peoples, but for all of us together, as one human family. Every shirt is a promise: that we will not forget, that we will not let silence win, and that we will walk forward in kinship — wâhkôhtowin — to build a future where all children are cherished.

—Kanipawit Maskwa
ᑲᓂᐸᐏᐟ ᒪᐢᑿ

At the National Gathering of Elders, the powerful sound of the drum carried through the room as an Indigenous woman raised her voice and spirit. 🥁✨ Every beat told a story, honouring tradition, resilience, and the strength of her people. 🌿🔥 Moments like these remind us of the heartbeat of the land and the importance of culture being carried forward for future generations. 💫🪶

Special thanks to for the photos.

Carrie-Lee Erickson singing the “Women Warrior Song” by Martina Pierre from a Lilliot Nation

🧡🧡🧡🧡
Here we see Mother Earth and Grandmother Moon together as guardians, wrapping their arms around the children whose lives were taken, silenced, or lost in residential and boarding schools. Her body shines with both celestial light and earthly ribbons, reminding us that creation itself holds them close.

The children in the meadow represent not only those taken too soon, but also those carrying healing forward. Their peace reflects the promise that, under Mother’s protection, their spirits live on in balance with the land, the ancestors, and the stars.

The mountains, the eagle, the deer, the bison, and the flowers all whisper the same truth:
🌱 Every Child Matters. 🌱

This piece is both a remembrance and a call — to honor, to heal, and to never forget. To ensure that love, culture, and ceremony rise stronger than the systems that tried to erase them.
🧡 Today and always, we lift up our children.
🧡 They are remembered.
🧡 They are loved.
🧡 They matter.