September 2022 - Manitoba Museum

Orange Shirt Day has been recognized in Manitoba since 2017. The orange shirt is a symbol of remembrance for Indian Residential School Survivors which originated with the experience of Phyllis Webstad of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation. She shared her story of how her new orange shirt was taken away from her on her first day at St. Joseph Mission Indian Residential School, leaving her feeling worthless and insignificant.

Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation answer the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) call for a national day of remembrance as a way for Canadians to publicly commemorate the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools and the resilience of Indian Residential School Survivors, their families, and communities.

A Museum staff person wearing an orange t-shirt standing behind a table in the Welcome Gallery speaking with three Museum visitors. In the background, further inside the gallery is signage and banners for Orange Shirt Days.

To honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Manitoba Museum will be hosting its second annual Orange Shirt Days with special all-day programming and free admission from Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, provided with the support of the Province of Manitoba.

Programming in the Museum Galleries will be focused on the history of Indian Residential Schools and the TRC Calls to Action. The Museum was humbled by visitors’ earnest response to last year’s event and looks forward to providing an opportunity for visitors to learn, reflect, and respond to the legacy of Indian Residential Schools as part of our collective journey towards Reconciliation.

“I felt inspired, educated, and ready to take what I have learned and apply it to environments around me (family, friends, work, etc.)”

– 2021 Orange Shirt Days participant

Visitors will follow a self-guided tour through the Museum Galleries to discover many exhibits relevant to the history of Indian Residential Schools and the TRC Calls to Action. Along the way they will hear Indigenous voices and perspectives in videos from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Finally, at the Manitoba Cares station, visitors will share their thoughts and make their own commitments to take action for Reconciliation.

There will be special showings in the Planetarium of Legends of the Northern Sky, which features two stories that exemplify how the Indigenous people of North America connect with the night sky in fundamental ways that resonate with their world. Visitors will also have access to hands-on experiences in the Science Gallery.

Join us for a time of learning, reflection, and response.

Three days of free admission to all areas from September 30 to October 2. No tickets required.

This summer I went from Manitoba’s southern-most border all the way to its northern one within just a week. I was fascinated to see how differences in climate had influenced the plant communities. The massive trees of the south give way to nearly treeless tundra in the far north. But despite being separated by over 1,000 kilometers, both places had something in common: climate change was beginning to impact the plants.

To the Southeast

In early August, I drove to Buffalo Point First Nation to search for rare plants, with the permission of the community. Buffalo Point is in the extreme southeastern corner of the province. Many plants reach their northeastern limit in that part of the province, including Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana).

In addition to hiking the trails there, I travelled by boat down the Reed River with two Indigenous guides. I was looking for rare plants that grow on shorelines. Alas, they were not there. Due to the heavy snow and rain this year, the water level was higher than my guides had ever seen in their lives. The water extended right into the forest, killing some of the waterlogged trees and flooding once productive beds of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris).

A light-green fern growing in the grass.

Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana) only grows in the southeastern part of the province. © Manitoba Museum

I went by motor boat to the pristine Reed River to look for rare plants. © Manitoba Museum

High water levels in the Reed River flooded areas where beds of Wild Rice (Zizania palustris) used to grow. © Manitoba Museum

To the North

A week later, I was on a plane to Churchill to search for rare plants in that part of the province. Once again, I visited a river that was swollen beyond its usual level: the Churchill River. My Indigenous guide commented that the normal shoreline vegetation was completely covered by water. But it wasn’t just the river vegetation that was being impacted, either.

Another Indigenous person I met told me that her 70-year old grandfather had witnessed huge changes in the tundra around Churchill in his lifetime. Tall shrubs, like Silver Willow (Salix candida), were much less common in the past. These tall species are now increasing in abundance, as they can out-compete the short, tundra vegetation when temperatures are warmer (Mekonnen, 2021). With continued warming, this “shrubification” will likely continue, completely changing the plant communities in the far north.

Vegetation along the Churchill River was flooded in 2022. © Manitoba Museum

Silver Willow (Salix candida) and other tall shrubs are encroaching on the tundra. © Manitoba Museum

Climate Change Consequences

I reflected that droughts and higher air temperatures are not the only consequences of adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Warm air holds more water than colder air, paving the way for unusually heavy snowfalls and torrential downpours (Konapala et al., 2020; Willett, 2020). Fewer natural wetlands in Manitoba’s south means that much of that moisture flows quickly into our rivers, causing floods, instead of being stored on the landscape. The huge Great Hay Marsh (southwest of Winnipeg), which used to cover an astonishing 194 km2, was completely drained in the early 1900’s, and no longer exists (Hanuta, 2001). Its water storage and filtration functions, which might have helped build resiliency to climate change, are now unavailable.

This summer was a stark reminder that the consequences of humanity’s behavior reverberates in the remotest areas of the globe. We have the ability to alter the ecosystems of the world, for good or ill. Protecting and restoring ecosystems, like wetlands, is just one way to help humanity weather the changes that are ahead.

Short, tundra plants like White Mountain Avens (Dryas integrifolia), shown above in fruit, may become rare in Manitoba, as climate change increases arctic temperatures and thaws permafrost. © Manitoba Museum

A close-up on an illustrated map of Manitoba, showing rivers and lakes.

The new map in the Museum’s Prairies Gallery shows the location of now extinct wetlands like the Great Hay Marsh. © Manitoba Museum

Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Curator of Botany

Dr. Bizecki Robson obtained a Master’s Degree in Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan studying rare plants of the mixed grass prairies. After working as an environmental consultant and sessional lecturer…

Meet Dr. Bizecki Robson