While Canada today recognizes the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honour the children, survivors, families and communities affected by residential schools, the day has long held significant meaning for the Indigenous community.

Since 2013, Sept. 30 has been Orange Shirt Day, which was started by residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad. She wore an orange shirt on her first day at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in the fall of 1973, which was taken from her by staff.

“The color orange has always reminded me of … how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared,” Webstad shared at OrangeShirtDay.org.

Webstad launched the Orange Shirt Society “to be able to tell my story so that others may benefit and understand, and maybe other survivors will feel comfortable enough to share their stories.”

Last year, the Orange Shirt Society expended into the sporting community with the creation of the Orange Jersey Project, with Webstad’s son, Jeremy Boston, serving as project manager. According to the website, the project was born out of an idea – “What if we could use the power of sport to serve as a vehicle toward educating today’s young athletes about the history of the Indian Residential School System and strengthen the path toward truth and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.”

As part of that education, each jersey features a QR code that links to an online platform that will help children discover the history of residential schools, with the goal to encourage learning, engagement, sharing and activities.

The project began with hockey jerseys, more than 10,000 of which were distributed to 500 teams from coast to coast to coast last season.

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, HockeyCanada.ca caught up with Boston to discuss the Orange Jersey Project, continuing his mother’s passion project and what the future holds.

Where did the idea for the Orange Jersey Project come from?

The Orange Jersey Project was created by Tyler Fuller, an Indigenous male from Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan who played pro hockey in the Central Hockey League (CHL) and International Hockey League (IHL). The idea of the Orange Jersey Project was born from an idea that came while Tyler and his wife Amanda were watching the news when the remains of the 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc were uncovered.

Tyler and Amanda came up with the idea to design a hockey jersey as a way to inform people about residential school survivors and victims. Tyler contacted Chief Willie Sellars of Williams Lake First Nation and asked for his guidance. Chief Sellars directed Tyler to Phyllis Webstad, the founder of the Orange Shirt Society, who introduced Tyler to the OSS executive director, who helped get the ball rolling.

Why was it important for the Orange Shirt Society to expend into sports?

Sports, such as hockey, are a great vessel for all Indigenous and non-Indigenous to come together to learn the real history of Canada. The Orange Shirt Society is designed to encourage action for truth and reconciliation and can help educate athletes about the history of the residential school system in Canada. The Orange Shirt Society works to create awareness of the intergenerational impacts of residential schools and the concept of Every Child Matters.

Why is this project important to your family and to the Indigenous community?

Four generations of my family have attended residential schools. My great-grandmother Lena Jack, my grandmother Rose Wilson and my mother Phyllis Webstad attended residential schools. I attended the last operational school in Canada in 1996. It is important for the path of healing and new beginnings in a Canada we all love. To overcome barriers between Indigenous and non-Indigenous to become one and come together as we continue to educate and learn together on our path for truth and reconciliation.

How can interested teams get their orange jerseys?

Teams can visit OrangeJerseyProject.ca to register and request orange practice jerseys, as well as the curriculum program, at no cost, while supplies last.

Once teams have received their jerseys, they’re encouraged to choose several practices throughout the season dedicated to wearing the jerseys and spending a few minutes acknowledging the Treaty Lands upon which they are playing and the Indigenous Peoples who reside there. We also invite teams to participate in team-building activities off the ice to work through the curriculum together.

Hockey was first … which sports are next?

Currently our main focus is hockey, but in the near future we would love to expand into all sports.

Keyanna Lea has been doing a lot of winning lately, both on the ice and behind the bench.

The 21-year-old from Berens River First Nation won the Manitoba Women’s Junior Hockey League (MWJHL) championship with the Prairie Blaze this past April and was named playoff MVP after registering 13 points (7-6—13) in eight playoff games.

Just over a month later, Lea was an assistant coach with Team Manitoba as it took home a gold medal at the 2022 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC) in Membertou, Nova Scotia. It was Lea’s first time coaching the provincial team after winning back-to-back gold medals as a player in 2017 and 2018.

“It was definitely a different perspective for me. Going back there was an unreal experience because last time I was there I was playing (in 2018) and we won the gold,” Lea says. “It was hard for me to transition with the nerves and the feelings more so because I was feeling what the girls were feeling but as a coach, you don’t want to show the emotions. Being a coach was definitely a humbling experience and let me tell you, being in that gold medal game, it was so hard to be a coach because all you want to do is go out there and play yourself, but the girls made my job easy by doing what was asked of them from the coaching staff.”

Lea’s hockey odyssey has been interesting, to say the least.

After suiting up for the Varsity Prep team at Balmoral Hall in her Grade 11 year in 2016-17, Lea and her twin sister Keyara were approached to move to Boston to play for the Shamrocks in the Junior Women’s Hockey League (JWHL), the same league that Balmoral Hall plays in. Keyanna had a solid 2017-18 season for Boston, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists in 22 games.

Following high school graduation in 2018-19, the sisters were close to committing to play for the University of Manitoba, but they ended up going back to the JWHL to play for the New England Hockey Club.

They returned to Winnipeg after one season in New England and Lea was offered a job as a support worker with Shawenim Abinoojii, a not-for-profit organization in Riverton, Man., that works with First Nations children and families.

She plans on playing one more year with the Blaze, but knows her elite playing days are numbered – hence the transition to coaching.

“After the coaching experience at NAHC, I’ve realized that I do fit in this kind of area so I would love to pursue coaching more. With my job, I’m able to set time aside.” she says.

Lea gives full credit to Dale Bear, her head coach with the Blaze and the long-time head coach of Team Manitoba at the NAHC, for not only encouraging her to pursue coaching, but for the tremendous impact he has had on her hockey career, both on and off the ice.

Lea had previously helped Bear with Team Manitoba tryouts as an on-ice instructor and bench coach, so when he asked Lea to be his assistant coach, the decision to accept was not a hard one.

“Kind of since Day 1, (Dale) has been someone that I have looked up to in terms of him allowing me to be the player that I wanted to be,” Lea says. “He listened to me. He gave me constructive criticism. He gave me the feedback that I needed as a player and as a person. I have always felt close to him. He has always been there for me. It’s hard for me to look at him as a coach because of the things he has done for me in my hockey career and in life. He brought me to my full potential.”

Bear has always seen natural leadership qualities in Lea, which is one of the reasons he nudged her to get behind the bench this past season.

“Keyanna always talked about giving back so I brought up coaching with her and she jumped at the opportunity,” Bear says. “Keyanna displays great leadership when she plays, and that type of leadership is what we want in our coaches that coach in our program. She is very focused, but most of all she has a big heart and knows exactly what is going through these young players' minds, which is a huge benefit for our players and myself having her on the bench.”

Lea has her Coach 1 certification through the National Coach Certification Program, and she plans on obtaining her Coach 2 certification this coming season. She was recently approached to coach a U9 team in Riverton next season.

“I would love to go back home and provide an experience for those young kids like I had,” she says. “Hockey has taken me as a player everywhere, so wherever the coaching may take me, if it’s in the Interlake, in Manitoba, wherever it takes me, I would go.”

To say that hockey has come full circle for Lea would be cliché, but also accurate, as she focuses on the next chapter of her hockey career and giving back to her community.

“Keyanna takes a lot of pride in her Indigenous ancestry and displays hard work and a great attitude,” Bear says. “These traits are exactly what we want to instill in our young Indigenous athletes. In most cases Indigenous players feel left out or intimidated to attend tryouts/camps, but with more Indigenous coaches this will help bring more Indigenous players to programs that didn't really have that diversity on their teams or leagues.”

Trenton Morriseau says games like the Orange Wave Night are special, but he knows healing — and growth — when it comes Indigenous relations in Canada is a process.

Morrisseau’s junior hockey team — the Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) — hosted the inaugural Orange Wave Night on March 12 at Norwest Arena in Oliver Paipoonge, Ont., which celebrated Indigenous culture and traditions.

Members of the Fighting Walleye wore one-time orange design jerseys, sponsored by Jason Thompson and his company, Warrior Supplies and Engineering. The colour orange has become a symbol of the Indigenous movement. According to the team, the mission is to “celebrate diversity, promote cultural awareness and support the Indigenous community through sport.”

The game-worn jerseys were auctioned off and the money raised – more than $10,000 – went towards post-secondary scholarships for graduating Indigenous players.

Nineteen-year-old Morriseau, who was born and raised in Fort William First Nation, says the hard work by everyone in the Walleye organization and the sponsors to put this event together will go a long way.

“It’s really important to celebrate our culture with our community of Oliver Paipoonge,” he says. “You know, it’s just the step in the right direction for reconciliation and healing for Aboriginal people.”

While Morriseau is in his second year with the Walleye, a franchise started in 2020, this campaign was his first full one with the club after a large part of the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morriseau is a graduate of the Thunder Bay Kings AAA program who finished the 2021-22 season ninth in SIJHL scoring with 21 goals and 29 assists.

He admits he would be lying if he didn’t encounter prejudice while moving up the hockey ladder.

“At some point, every Indigenous person is going to experience some kind of racism,” says the 5-foot-10 forward. “It’s our job to try and educate people and you know, tell them like what’s right. And it’s not their fault, what they hear at home from their parents and stuff either, right? So lots of times, they’re just good kids, and they’re just kind of repeating what they hear at home. You know what I mean? So it’s just it’s our job to educate them. We just have to keep that in mind.”

The opening ceremony of Orange Wave Night included an Indigenous drum group featuring Ron Kanutski, the Fort William First Nations Little NHL Team and special dignitaries within the community.

Dignitaries consisted of Aaron Kakapetum (senior commercial account manager of Indigenous banking, RBC); Trevor Iserhoff (director of inclusion and diversity, SIJHL); Colin Campbell (co-owner, Kam River Fighting Walleye); Jason Thompson (owner and founder, Warrior Supplies and Engineering); Chief Peter Collins (Fort William First Nation); Grand Chief Derek Fox (Nishnawbe First Nation); and Beatrice Hynnes (Ojibway anthem singer).

The Fighting Walleye capped off the celebratory evening with a win, coming from behind to down the visiting Dryden Ice Dogs 3-2 thanks to a game-winner from Morriseau with just 3:45 left.

Victoria Bach doesn’t have a lot of free time these days.

In addition to her activities with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA), Bach is working towards her professional master’s degree in education at Queen’s University and, not least of all, preparing to chase a gold medal at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship and a roster spot for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Who says life is boring during a global pandemic?

But in recent months, another task has taken centre stage in Bach’s life – working with Indigenous communities across the country.

A proud member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation near Belleville, Ont., the 24-year-old is driven by the memory of her late grandmother as she looks to give back.

Happy National Indigenous Peoples Day! Especially to this strong woman. Miss you everyday Grandma. I am proud to be indigenous! 🤍 pic.twitter.com/urbadYopVI

— Victoria Bach (@veebach21) June 21, 2020

“My grandmother, Shirley, was born and raised in Tyendinaga,” Bach says. “She's always been a big role model to me, hearing her stories, what [she went] through throughout her life. It's been really inspiring to me.”

To help reach a larger audience, Bach has connected with ProPacts, a group that works with athletes (its roster includes Hockey Hall of Fame member Brian Trottier and two-time Olympic gold medallist Shannon Szabados, among others) to create interactive and engaging events.

“I've given a bunch of different presentations on life skills,” she says. “And I've also been [doing] workouts. [It is about] being a good role model and having kind of a mentorship program.”

It’s not a one-way street, however. As much as those on the other side of the screen get from Bach, she is getting just as much from them, asking questions to help round out her understanding of Indigenous culture.

Bach did not grow up on the reserve, and relied on stories from her grandmother and father to truly embrace her Mohawk roots and trace the journey of her family.

“I haven't had the chance to experience that culture,” she says, noting she is also taking classes with an Indigenous focus at Queen’s. “It’s important to learn the history, the hardships, the different languages and everything that goes into being Indigenous.”

And if everything goes her way, she’ll have an awfully large platform to tell her story in the next eight months.

Bach is one of 28 players who have been selected to centralize with Canada’s National Women’s Team ahead of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. From that group, 25 will be chosen to wear the Maple Leaf at women’s worlds in Calgary beginning Aug. 20.

She has been along for the rollercoaster ride that has been the women’s hockey world in the last 16 months – the 2020 women’s worlds were cancelled in the early days of the pandemic, and the Province of Nova Scotia pulled the plug on the 2021 tournament in April, just two weeks out from the first games – but it appears puck drop is set for the Stampede City.

“We're all so excited to get to Calgary and get to compete and play games and play for that world championship,” the Boston University product says. “It's something that we've been waiting for the past year and a half, to get that opportunity. And it's finally coming closer.”

Bach was a standout with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team, posting 33 points in 35 games from 2015-18 before making her National Women’s Team debut at the 2018 4 Nations Cup.

She has scored four times in 15 games with the senior team, including a memorable overtime winner against the U.S. in the Rivalry Series in February 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 shut down the world.

🚨 @katbt617 knocks, lets @veebach21 do the honours of opening the door.

VICTORIA WINS IT IN VICTORIA❗️#RivalrySeriespic.twitter.com/UpUiMg0kar

— Team Canada Women (@HC_Women) February 4, 2020

The upcoming women’s worlds is just step one. As soon as the gold medals are awarded in Alberta, the focus immediately shifts to Beijing and the six-month journey that is Olympic centralization.

“We're there to compete as a group and get better as a group,” Bach says. “After the world championship is over, a new chapter begins. And we push ourselves and push our teammates. I'm really excited to just get the chance to compete every day with one another. I think it's going to be a great experience.”

With so much on the go, Bach could be excused for not having just a single end goal in mind. But it all comes back to who she is, where she comes from and what she represents.

“I hope to be a role model for all those young Indigenous girls and boys, and someone that they can look up to.”

Hockey and community have always gone hand-in-hand for Wacey Rabbit. He remembers getting to the rink for one of his first practices was a family effort.

“My mom didn’t know how to put on my equipment, and I had a 6 a.m. practice, so we had to drive 20 minutes to my grandparents’ place,” Rabbit laughs. “So, I’m sitting there watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating my cereal while my grandparents are showing my mom how to put my equipment on.”

Those memories full of family and friends are the foundation on which Rabbit’s love for the game was built. The 34-year-old just finished his 15th season as a professional, the last three-and-a-half with the Jacksonville Icemen in the ECHL. But his experiences within the game didn’t always match his positive outlook. Rabbit remembers the first time he was exposed to racist and derogatory comments at the rink as a 10-year-old playing in his first major tournament away from the Kainai First Nation in southern Alberta.

“I remember talking to my parents and grandparents about it and my grandma said, ‘It’s not a reflection on you, it’s a reflection on them for what they’re saying. You be proud of who you are, and you be proud of where I come from.’ And I’ve taken those words with me everywhere I go,” Rabbit says.

“I’m a very proud First Nations man. I come from the Blood Tribe, I’m Blackfoot. For me to say those things and recognize those things, I hope that the next generation is proud that they can chase their dreams whether it’s on reserve or off reserve, whether it’s in academics, sports, whatever it is, whatever their passion is, that they believe in themselves to go and chase that.”

Rabbit is trying to support at least some of the dreams of Indigenous youth, by creating the WR20 Power Skill Hockey Camp and touring it around Alberta. (He has plans to take his camps to First Nations throughout the country when it is safe to do so.)

A few years ago, Kevin McCallum was on the road in northern Ontario during a scouting trip.

“I was working up at a previous job at Cat Lake, and the guy that drove me around pointed to a house and said ‘There’s a 17-year-old living there that’s the best skater I’ve ever seen in my life,’” says McCallum. “And there was no one really there to spot him.”

Today, McCallum is the general manager of the Kam River Fighting Walleye of the Superior International Junior Hockey League, a Junior A loop that operates in Ontario, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

He shares that story when asked how much talent there is in First Nations communities throughout Ontario and, really, throughout Canada. He’s a believer that many parts of the country have never been scouted well and teams are missing out.

“I have seen a ton of great players who are uncoached but have that talent that’s there,” McCallum says. “If we can identify them a lot earlier and guide them in the process, hopefully we can get them either into a Walleye uniform or even on to something bigger and better.”

The Fighting Walleye are entering their second SIJHL season, although their expansion campaign lasted just four games thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the club entered the league, identifying and recruiting talent in First Nations communities has been a priority; it is so important, in fact, that one of McCallum’s initial staff hires was Trevor Iserhoff, who was given the title of First Nations scout. Iserhoff, originally from Moose Factory, Ont., played a lot of his minor hockey in Thunder Bay and area and went on to play junior hockey in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, along with a stint south of the border in the United States.

After his junior hockey career came to an end, he played senior men’s hockey and then moved on to coaching his own kids in the game. Now, his role sees him work with contacts throughout the country to find players from First Nations communities who have what it takes to play at the Junior A level.

“I was fortunate enough to play with a lot of good hockey players and now they live throughout Canada,” says Iserhoff. “So I’m able to contact them and see if they know of anyone that has the caliber to play junior hockey. With social media, I have people coming up to me and asking, ‘Is this kid good enough to play?’ It’s a lot of social media work, just contacting people and them contacting me. I know people from Nova Scotia all the way to B.C. who are helping me out with this. It’s not just me doing it. I have a lot of help.”

Iserhoff is modest, but the work he’s putting in for the Fighting Walleye is noteworthy and impressive. His background – having grown up in a First Nations family, his path to junior hockey, his knowledge of the game – is an incredible asset for the Kam River club.

They’re also important when he visits a family of a young hockey player and talks to them about the benefits of joining the Fighting Walleye.

“It’s very important for parents to trust. You’re sending your son to live in a totally different city and meet new people,” says Iserhoff. “Me, talking to parents to try and sell the idea for their son to play junior hockey goes a long way. Having those contacts that are reaching out to me, to back me up and say, ‘Yeah, this is good for your son’ and ‘Yes, your son can play junior hockey.’

“Some communities are maybe 500 to 1,000 people and then if you go to a city like Thunder Bay, it’s over 110,000 people, so you really get a culture shock and brand-new surroundings. So it will take time to get used to. Once you do get used to it, you’re going to have the time of your life playing junior hockey.”

The Fighting Walleye currently have 11 players on their active roster who come from First Nations communities. The club is holding a prospects camp in late August and are expecting players from northern Ontario and as far away as Nunavut.

Iserhoff, who hosts a podcast called Rez Hockey where he interviews First Nations players and shares their stories, is blazing a trail that he hopes many others will take as he knows there’s talent out there.

“I hope so, I hope it becomes a trend because there’s enough talent for a lot of junior teams to have First Nations kids on their teams,” he says. “I’m humbled to be the first one in Canada but I was able to have a lot of mentors and people I looked up to in hockey so I think it’s my turn to pay back what I was taught and who I learned from.”