What is Orange Shirt Day?
Orange Shirt Day, September 30, raises concerns about the Indian residential school system that is still affecting Native American communities in the United States and Canada. The day, known as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, honors the children who were forced into Indian boarding schools. In addition, the day honors those who have never returned home.
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Indian residential schools, also known as American Indian boarding schools, were established in the early 19th century. The schools were established as an assimilation scheme to teach Indian children in Euro-American ways. Native American children were deprived of their heritage, including their language, customs, music, and traditions, according to residential schools.
Native American children were systematically removed from their homes and families' homes by the government, according to Christian missionaries. Children who protested would often be subjected to brutal treatment because these organizations followed corporal punishment. Unfortunately, new inquiries have found instances of sexual assault and mental abuse, all because they were Indian.
In 1879, Civil War veteran Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt founded Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. In the United States, 29 states will have 367 schools. The Indian Child Welfare Act was passed by the United States in 1978. Native American parents have the right to refuse to enroll their children in schools off the reservations under the condition. However, some schools will continue to operate well into the 1970s, with the last school officially closing in the 1990s.
