Nonotuck Celebrates ‘Orange Shirt Day’

September 30 marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada and Orange Shirt Day, a day of recognition and remembrance of Indigenous children, families, and communities impacted by residential and boarding school systems in Canada and the United States.

Nonotuck invited staff to wear orange in recognition of this important day, and there’s still time to participate! Staff who wore orange—or would still like to take a photo wearing orange—are encouraged to submit photos for a Nonotuck social media post.

Understanding the History

For generations, Indigenous children in both Canada and the United States were separated from their families and communities and sent to residential or boarding schools. These systems sought to assimilate Indigenous children by separating them from their cultures, languages, traditions, and ways of life.

In Canada, 140 federally run residential schools operated between 1867 and 1996. In the United States, the Department of the Interior has identified 417 federal Indian boarding schools that operated across 37 states or then-territories. The U.S. investigation found that federal policies deliberately separated Indigenous children from their families and sought to assimilate them, causing lasting and intergenerational harm to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities.

Many children experienced abuse and mistreatment, and many never returned home. Acknowledging this history—and listening to the experiences of Survivors, their families, and their descendants—is an important part of remembrance, truth, and healing.

About Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day began in Williams Lake, British Columbia, in 2013 as a grassroots initiative honoring Residential School Survivors, their families, and the children who never returned home. Although the movement began in Canada, wearing orange has also become a way for Native communities and others in the United States to raise awareness of the history and legacy of Indian boarding schools.

The orange shirt symbolizes the loss of culture, freedom, and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children and serves as a reminder that “Every Child Matters.”

Share Your Orange Shirt Day Photos!

Wearing orange is a simple way to participate in a larger commitment to listening, learning, acknowledgment, remembrance, and respect.

Nonotuck staff are encouraged to submit photos of themselves and their colleagues wearing orange, even if the photos were taken after September 30.

Photos can be sent to Joshua Murray at murray@nonotuck.com for inclusion in an upcoming Nonotuck social media post.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Orange Shirt Day and continues to help foster a community rooted in respect, understanding, healing, and belonging.