Prince Albert artist creates Orange Shirt Day design to symbolize hope after residential schools
A 20-year-old artist from Prince Albert has created an Orange Shirt Day design unique to the city to signify hope after Canada’s residential school history.
Ailah Carpenter is an arts student at the University of Saskatchewan. The City of Prince Albert selected her to create a design to be printed on shirts worn on Sept. 30, known as Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
“The theme that I was trying to go for was hope. Of course, hope is just hopeful for the future, hopeful for good things to come. But, to me, there is more than one aspect to being hopeful,” she said.
The design includes four elements: children, a butterfly, stars and eagle feathers. Each portrays a different meaning of hope, said Carpenter, such as a butterfly as a symbol of transformation and eagle feathers as symbols of strength.
Ailah Carpenter created the design ‘Flying Back Home’ for Prince Albert to recognize Orange Shirt Day. (City of Prince Albert/Submitted)Carpenter said her great grandmother and grandfather attended residential schools.
"It really impacts your family in a way that you wouldn't understand unless you've been through it,” she said.
“There's intergenerational trauma. There's stuff you hold back because of the kind of abuse you go through in those schools, and it trickles down. It's hard to unlearn how to not think so stiffly or think so cruelly, even towards yourself. I see that in my family as we, I guess, get to know each other again, get to know each other’s culture.”
Now that Sept. 30 is recognized as a federal statutory holiday, Carpenter hopes people don’t just treat is as “a holiday.” Instead, she wants people take the day to learn and reflect on residential schools.
“I believe that a lot of the things we deal with, a lot of the issues we have in our communities now, stem from pain that just has never been healed.”
Carpenter said she explored Indigenous styles from the coast, prairie land and the arctic when creating the design, which she named “flying back home.”
The shirts will be available at the Prince Albert Indian and Métis Friendship Centre. They’ll be sold to cover the cost of production, according to the City of Prince Albert.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Israel attacks Iran, Reuters sources say; drones reported over Isfahan
Israel has attacked Iran, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Iranian state media reported early on Friday that its forces had destroyed drones, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.