When six-year-old Phyllis Jack arrived for her first day of school in 1973, she was stripped of her clothes, including the new orange shirt her grandmother just bought her, which was never returned. That was common practice in the Canadian Indian residential school system, one of the ways the system denied children their Indigenous identity. Phyllis is from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation. She was born in 1967 on the Dog Creek Reserve in British Columbia. She recalls a childhood rich in traditional practices and connection to the land. The family lived off the land, maintaining three gardens in the valley and storing food in a cellar. Webstad participated in catching sockeye salmon along the Fraser River at night. She spent one year in the residential school, with minimal contact with her family. Once a school was established on the Dog Creek Reserve, she was able to return home and live with her grandmother. She later married and became Phyllis Webstad. She started Orange Shirt Day in 2013 as an observance of the trauma caused by forced assimilation. Orange Shirt Day is observed in most of Canada on this date each year. It was made a statutory holiday in 2021 and named "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation", in light of the claims of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential school sites. Credits: https://w.wiki/FVaK I left my van on the west side and rode to the Capitola Community Center to join the club's B ride, which turned the route into a health 46 miles for me. Even after 36 miles up to Swanton and back yesterday, I felt quite strong the whole time and mostly kept up with the group. I started feeling my legs a lot on the way back from Capitola, and the last pitch up Laurel Street was hard. But it was a fun ride. I enjoyed chatting with Peter and Janis, who I haven't see for awhile. And welcome to new club member Rich, his first club ride. Rich did great. He says he does road, gravel, and mountain, but he wants to ride more now that he's retired. Club President Alex and I grilled him about how he learned of the club. Not a paper copy of the RoadRunner (which we think is still good visibility for the club in bike shops), but rather a recommendation from a staff member at Bicycle Trip. Now to rest up for the Mount Diablo Challenge on Sunday, in five days. I might spin a bit on Thursday, listening to advice from Maryann. And I'm hiking three miles at Borges Ranch with Save Mount Diablo on Saturday. I don't think that'll be too much before the big climb up Mount Diablo.