NMU commemorates Orange Shirt Day
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MARQUETTE -- Wednesday was Orange Shirt Day, also called National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Sept. 30 is a day set aside to commemorate Indigenous children who were taken from their families and forced to attend U.S. and Canadian government-funded residential and boarding schools operated by Christian denomination churches and clergy members.
Northern Michigan University's Center for Native American Studies marked the day by gathering at the Wildcat statue on campus.
"The significance of the orange shirt represents the experience of Phyllis Webstad, Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band), who was excited to wear her new orange shirt for her first day of school, only to have her clothing stripped away from her," said CNAS director and event organizer Tyler Detloff.
"Webstad writes that 'The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn't matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.'
"During the boarding school era (approx. 1870-1956), Indigenous youth were forcibly removed from their families (and) enrolled in residential schools which attempted to assimilate their subjects into dominant society with the guiding philosophy to 'kill the Indian, save the man,' as the founder of the Carlisle Indian School, Captain Richard Henry Pratt, established. The Canadian Government passed legislation in 2021 to create the federal statutory holiday National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30; however, Indigenous peoples have been commemorating the day for several years prior."
At the event, Detloff spoke about the significance of the day, and read several poems from Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe poet Linda Grover's collection "The Sky I Watched."
"Today is the day of remembrance, and I think our collective support shows that we're validating these stories and showing our willingness to listen, our willingness to educate," said Detloff.
"So I hope that you're able to take some of that collective representation here. Let that build your confidence as you carry some of these messages forward into the communities that you occupy, so you can be the change makers to share these stories and validate those who had the experience of boarding schools for Native Americans and First Nations people."
Another Orange Shirt Day event was held on Wednesday in Marquette beginning at the Grandview Apartments, previously the Holy Family Orphanage, which served as an Indigenous boarding school and was one of eight Indigenous boarding schools in Michigan.
More information about Orange Shirt Day and the Every Child Matters movement can be found at orangeshirtday.org/.
Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.