Honorary Degrees
2024
Phyllis Webstad (D.Ed.)
As founder of Orange Shirt Day and ambassador for the Orange Shirt Society, Phyllis Webstad facilitates dialogue around the Indian Residential School system and creates space for healing. Orange Shirt Day, recognized annually on September 30, is a day for people to reflect, educate themselves and commit to Truth and Reconciliation.
When Phyllis was just six years old, she was forced to attend St. Joseph's Mission Residential School near Williams Lake, British Columbia. Her grandma gifted her an orange shirt to wear on her first day of school, but upon arrival, her shirt was forcibly removed. No matter how much Phyllis cried or protested, her special new shirt was never returned. That cruel action resulted in Phyllis feeling unimportant and as if she did not matter. The colour orange became a symbol of the effects of Indian Residential Schools and a physical symbol for ‘Every Child Matters’.
The Orange Shirt Society was created as a legacy to Phyllis’ Orange Shirt Day. The society works to further the message of Indian Residential School survivors. The non-profit organization is located in Williams Lake, and the board of directors consists of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous members. Phyllis works full-time with the society.
Over Phyllis’s career, she has acquired diplomas in both Business Administration from Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and Accounting from Thompson Rivers University (TRU). She received the TRU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2017 for her unprecedented impact on local, provincial, national and international communities through the sharing of her orange shirt story. She has also a received the Meritorious Service Cross (Civil Division) from the Governor General of Canada.
A published author, Phyllis has three books that share her story in her own words – Orange Shirt Story; Phyllis’ Orange Shirt; and Beyond the Orange Shirt Story. Due to Phyllis' work, a simple orange shirt has become a conversation starter for all aspects of Indian Residential Schools across the country and beyond its borders.
Phyllis is Northern Secwépemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band), and she currently resides in Williams Lake with her husband.
Finding comfort in the outdoors, Phyllis can often be found in nature or going for walks outside as it allows her to feel grounded and connected to the land.
Norman Fleury (D. Lit.)
Born in St. Lazare, Manitoba, Elder Norman Fleury is a sixth-generation Michif, known nationally for his efforts to preserve the Michif language, stories, history, and culture.
In addition to being active for 57 years with Métis governance building and preservation and revitalization of the Michif language and culture. He has written several books on the subject—including Canada's first Michif language dictionary—and has translated documents ranging from children's books to government documents into Michif.
Norman believes in community, and he has worked with Brandon University, where he taught the first-ever accredited Michif Language course, Gabriel Dumont Institute, Saskatchewan Urban Native Teachers Educational Program (SUNTEP), Louis Riel Institute, Rupertsland Institute, and community organizations. He continues to work with Métis Nation–Saskatchewan, community schools, and University of Saskatchewan where he is a special lecturer in the College of Education.
He is a strong leader in teaching Michif, which includes sharing Métis culture, history, and heritage. His experiences, knowledge, and ability to share cultural components of Michif language have helped develop curriculum, translate written educational materials, and orally share the rich history of the Métis.
Norman wears many hats, but most importantly he is Paapaa or Mooshoom to many in the Métis community. He continues his legacy by passing down his language and knowledge to his children, Chantelle and Marc, and granddaughters, Saige and Blake, as well as many other children within the Métis community. He sees children as the future of the nation, while he is the past, but he continues to build a strong nation through the children.
Weiming Zhao (D. Lit.)
Weiming Zhao is a distinguished plein air painter based here in Brandon, who has created a painting every single day for the past 20 years.
Working mainly outdoors no matter the weather, Weiming challenges himself to set down in oil the fleeting moments, the touches of light, and the serendipitous instants that make up everyday life wherever he sets his easel.
As an artist, Weiming is drawn to Brandon’s historic character homes, with their charming architecture and silent histories, but also to the everyday scenes of people coming and going from ordinary spaces in the city. By focusing attention on the familiar, Weiming’s paintings are relatable in a way that captivates his audiences.
From these daily observations, over the past two decades, Weiming has produced an absolutely unparallelled chronicle of Brandon — perhaps the only community anywhere in the world to have been painted so often, for so long, by one person.
The 7,300-plus paintings he has created grace both gallery walls and private collections, from Canada and the United States to England, Russia, and China. More than a dozen of Weiming’s works have been acquired by the Manitoba Provincial Art Collection. On a regular basis, his works are sought after for fundraising auctions and regional calendars. In fact, one of Weiming’s portraits of the Brandon University campus was chosen as the first-ever annual Convocation artwork.
Brandon University is a repeated subject for Weiming, as he credits the university for bringing him to Brandon, and for surrounding him with the support and connections that enticed him to stay. Every year on the anniversary of his arrival in the city, he paints a new portrait of the BU campus.
Having grown up in a remote northwestern part of China during the Cultural Revolution, Weiming taught himself English in the 1970s, then taught English to others in China before turning his sights to Canada. Weiming arrived in Brandon in 1991 as an international student, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from BU in 1994 — exactly 30 years ago this month.
Weiming’s ongoing dedication to daily plein air painting has significantly contributed to the cultural landscape of Brandon and beyond. His ability to capture the beauty and spirit of the city inspires his viewers to take pride in their city, and to see everyday sights through the magic of his brush.
His contributions to the local art scene ensure Weiming is a vital cultural figure in Brandon.