September 30 is Orange Shirt Day in Canada.

In the story below, the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) tells what Orange Shirt Day is about. Many of my friends are in this photo. I’m wearing an orange shirt today.

Tansi Friends,  Today is September 30 – “National Day for Truth and Reconciliation,” a statutory Canadian holiday, better known as “Orange Shirt Day.” This holiday was intended to educate people and promote awareness in Canada about the Indian residential school system and the impact it has had on Indigenous communities for over a century. The use of the orange shirt is attributed to Phyllis Jack Webstad. She was sentenced to St. Joseph Mission Residential School when she was six years old. On her first day there her clothes were taken from her, including a new orange shirt given to her by her grandmother. She never saw that shirt again. The story resonated with thousands and became a symbol of the violence that Indigenous children faced in these internment camps called schools.  Recently, thousands of unmarked graves have been uncovered on the grounds of around 10 residential schools in Canada. There were over 490 residential schools (boarding schools in the U.S.) between the United States and Canada. The New York Times reported on this last summer, and while we are thankful for the coverage, it doesn’t nearly represent the pain and suffering this is causing in our community. Also, trying to quantify the number of graves that have been found is not ever going to tell the truth. The truth is that many children’s bodies will never be found as they were hidden or cremated. There were also many children that tried to run home but died of starvation or exposure. And then there are those that died from suicide and addiction because of the pain they could not overcome.  Great Plains Action Society has felt this pain firsthand, as many of our close family members attended these schools, and we are rising to meet the needs of our communities. Last year, in Sioux City, we hosted a large community feast and ceremony to honor nine children whose bodies were reMatriated back to Sicangu Oyate lands from the grounds of the Carlisle Boarding School. We have also raised funds to help one of our relatives, Curt Young, show his film, They Found Us, about the search for children’s bodies at the George Gordon First Nation. If we can raise enough funding, we would like to get his film shown throughout Iowa and the Midwest. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives crisis largely exists because of the reprercussions of boarding schools. We have been working to support families directly impacted by colonial violence (like what was experienced in these schools) with financial support to travel to court, child care, community gatherings, and covering ceremonial/memorial expenses while continuing all of our other work, including mutual aid, political engagement action, and fighting for our earth. We are dedicated to providing whatever our community needs to grow, survive, and thrive.    Please support our work to end the MMIR crisis and help heal those affected by boarding schools (aka, internment camps for children) Ay hai kitatamihin,   Sikowis (Fierce), aka, Christine Nobiss, she/her Plains Cree/Saulteaux, George Gordon First Nation Executive Director, Great Plains Action Society sikowis@greatplainsaction.org   Web – greatplainsaction.org FB – @GreatPlainsActionSociety IG – @greatplainsactionsociety Tw – @PlainsAction

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In the story above, my friend Sikowis Nobiss tells about a relative, Curt Young, and his film “They Found Us.” This link is to a blog post about Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)’s donation to help support the showing of this film. https://quakersandreligioussocialism.com/2023/01/29/they-found-us-2/

This is a very disturbing 3D graphic related to “They Found Us.” Moving the mouse around the image changes the perspective.

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The New York Times recently published an extensive article about the Native American Boarding School System, War Against the Children.

‘WAR AGAINST THE CHILDREN‘

The Native American boarding school system — a decades-long effort to assimilate Indigenous people before they ever reached adulthood — robbed children of their culture, family bonds and sometimes their lives.

By Zach Levitt, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Simon Romero and Tim Wallace Aug. 30, 2023

Beyond the vast federal system, this new list also sheds light on boarding schools that operated without federal support. Religious organizations ran at least 105 schools; many were Catholic, Presbyterian or Episcopalian, but smaller congregations such as the Quakers ran schools of their own.

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Another excellent resource about these institutions of forced assimilation is the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.