How to Be a Genuine Ally for Every Child Matters (Not Just on September 30)
If you've read our post on What is Every Child Matters and the Story Behind Orange Shirt Day, you already know the history. You know about Phyllis Webstad's orange shirt. You know about the 150,000+ children taken from their families. You know that the last residential school didn't close until 1996.
Now you're wondering: What do I actually do with that?
That's exactly the right question. And the fact that you're asking it means you're already on the right path.
What Being an Ally Actually Means
Allyship isn't a title you earn once. It's a practice — something you show up for again and again, especially when it's inconvenient, especially when no one is watching.
For Every Child Matters and Indigenous reconciliation more broadly, being an ally means choosing to educate yourself, amplify Indigenous voices, spend your dollars intentionally, and extend that commitment well beyond September 30.
It does not mean speaking on behalf of Indigenous people. It does not mean centering yourself in the conversation. And it does not mean wearing an orange shirt once a year and calling it done.
Here's what it can look like instead.
Five Ways to Show Up as a Meaningful Ally
1. Learn the actual history — and sit with the discomfort of it.
Canada's residential school system was not a dark chapter from the distant past. The last school closed in 1996. There are survivors alive today who were children in those institutions. Their children are grown now. Their grandchildren are in school.
The intergenerational effects of trauma, language loss, and cultural disconnection don't disappear when a policy ends. Understanding this — really sitting with it, not skimming past it — is where meaningful allyship begins.
The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (nctr.ca) is a powerful place to start. So is reading Phyllis Webstad's own writing, or the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
2. Teach the children in your life.
One of the most powerful things an ally can do is raise children who understand this history. If you're a parent, teacher, coach, or anyone who spends time with young people — talk about it. Age-appropriately and honestly.
Wearing an Every Child Matters shirt with your kids and explaining why is one small, tangible way to open that door. It sparks questions. Questions lead to conversations. Conversations lead to understanding.
3. Support Indigenous-owned businesses, year-round.
This one is direct and practical. Economic reconciliation is real reconciliation. When you choose to spend your money at Indigenous-owned businesses, you are putting resources back into communities that have faced generations of economic exclusion.
At Sahdeh Spruce, every design in our Indigenous Ally collection and our Every Child Matters collection is created by an Indigenous-owned brand. Your purchase supports that directly — not just in September, but whenever you choose us.
4. Amplify, don't speak over.
Social media gives everyone a platform, and allies have an important role to play there. Share posts from Indigenous creators, organizations, and educators. Link to their work. Give credit clearly and generously. If you're posting about Every Child Matters or Orange Shirt Day, include Indigenous voices in that conversation — don't let your post exist without them.
The goal is to make Indigenous voices louder.
5. Show up in your own community.
Does your workplace observe September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation? If not, you can advocate for that. Does your child's school teach residential school history? You can ask. Are there Indigenous-led organizations in your area that need volunteers or donors? Look for them.
Allyship happens in the everyday spaces you already occupy. You don't need to wait for a grand gesture.
A Note on Wearing Orange as an Ally
Wearing an Every Child Matters shirt when you are non-Indigenous is meaningful — when it comes with intention.
The shirt is not a costume. It is not a trend. It is a visible commitment to remembering, and to doing better. When someone asks about your shirt, be ready to talk about it. Know Phyllis Webstad's name. Know what Orange Shirt Day means. Know why September 30 matters.
If wearing the shirt opens even one conversation you wouldn't have had otherwise, it has done its job.
Our Every Child Matters collection is ally-friendly by design — made for anyone who believes that the children this movement honours deserved better, and who is committed to making sure history is not forgotten.
Allyship Is Not a Destination
There is no moment where you arrive as a fully formed ally and check the box. It is ongoing learning, ongoing listening, and ongoing action — sometimes messy, sometimes uncomfortable, always worth it.
Every Child Matters is not just a phrase. It is a reckoning with what happened, and a commitment to what comes next. Allies are part of that story too.
We're glad you're here.
— Alison, Sahdeh Spruce
Browse our Indigenous Ally Shirts and Every Child Matters collection. Ships across Canada and the USA.