BEHIND THE DESIGN

“Despite the history our people have with Canada, it is still our home and it will always be our home”

Karalyn’s concept for this design was inspired during a conversation with her younger cousin, Chad Cameron (12), about the significance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. When she asked what he would like to see on an Orange Shirt design, he sketched a turtle and suggested adding children running hand-in-hand. They chose the turtle to reference Turtle Island, and the various Indigenous stories in which the turtle symbolizes life and the earth. Karalyn intended to capture her cousin’s vision in the design to showcase a child’s interpretation of what “Every Child Matters” means.

Karalyn was raised by residential school survivors who were forbidden from speaking their language and practicing their Cree culture. As a result, Karalyn and her family never got the privilege of learning Cree from a young age. She has recently begun studying Cree as a way to reclaim her culture, with her first learned words being “Tahto Awâsis Asitakimâw,” meaning “Every Child Matters”. It was important for her to have these Cree words incorporated in the design in a way that it could be read and learned by both the wearer and the observer of the shirt. Karalyn’s hope is that we can all teach and learn from each other, and “show how resilient us Indigenous people are, and that we are all on this land together.”