In Canada, Orange Shirt Day is observed on September 30 as a federal holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) and other National Native Scholarship Providers are working to raise awareness of this important day of observation in solidarity with the survivors of boarding schools across North America.
Orange Shirt Day commemorates the experiences of residential school survivors, their families, and tribal communities. People are invited to wear an orange shirt, ribbon, flag, or other item to raise awareness of the treatment of Native students in federally owned and operated boarding schools. The orange shirt was chosen as the symbol for the day to honor Phyllis (Jack) Webstad (Northern Secwpemc), who was taken to a residential school at age six. Upon her arrival, the new, orange shirt Phyllis’ grandmother had bought for her first day of school was confiscated and never returned.
There were more than 526 federally funded boarding schools across the United States. An ongoing federal investigation led by former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaaland, released a report in July 2024 estimating 18,624 Native children attended residential boarding schools in the U.S. and at least 973 died while there. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition estimates that number could be far greater, with more than 60,000 children having attended boarding schools. Repatriation of the remains of Native children from former boarding school sites also continues.
In Native cultures children are sacred. The devastation caused by forced assimilation and abuse affected entire generations of students, families, and communities. The intergenerational or historical trauma resulting from these schools is still present in many tribal communities today. Some important steps towards healing have already been taken, including the release of the 2024 report of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative recommending an apology and President Joe Biden’s formal apology on behalf of the U.S. government on October 25, 2024. The tribal college movement, and broader tribally controlled education initiatives, is another critical step taken by Tribes. Seeking to heal from the mental and physical struggles caused by the Boarding School Era in the United States, Tribes fought for and established tribally controlled higher education institutions. These institutions serve Native people in their communities while centering education on their Tribes and cultures. Working to reclaim and revitalize Native cultures today is imperative to building a better future for the next seven generations of Native children.
The connection between the boarding school era and the tribal college movement can be seen at Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU). Founded in 1884 as a boarding school, HINU has since transformed into a four-year tribal university serving Native students from over 100 tribes. The faculty, staff, and students at HINU remember and honor the approximately 103 children who perished there and are buried on campus grounds.
The College Fund invites all people to commemorate the many lives impacted by boarding schools and the power of education in strengthening Native communities and sovereignty by observing Orange Shirt Day on September 30. Survivors and their families who may need additional support at this time are also invited to use these resources.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, American Indian College Fund President and CEO, said, “Orange Shirt Day offers an opportunity to be honest about the past even as we work towards a brighter future. The College Fund’s approach is based on healing through education and opportunity. Education gives us the power to reclaim our truth and choose our future while healing from the wounds of the past. Tribal colleges and universities rekindle knowledge nearly lost in the boarding school era and uplift their students to not only succeed in their fields but as members of their sovereign nations – sacred communities.”
