On Friday, local schools participated in demonstrations for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — also known as Orange Shirt Day. In participation, students at local schools wore orange shirts and other articles of clothing to show support for the Native American students who faced abuse and mistreatment from residential boarding schools. Among the schools to participate in large numbers included the Gowanda Central School District and the Silver Creek Central School District.

“It’s a day to remember those survivors and commemorate those who didn’t return home. … It’s obviously a very important time to come together and recognize our shared history,” said Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert B. Anderson.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Native Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to attend boarding schools to assimilate. While these students were forced to distance themselves from their own cultural identity, they were often abused and treated inhumanely. In some cases, students never returned home. Specifically, in Canada, a significant number of unmarked graves were discovered near former residential school sites.

To honor the victims of the abuse and mistreatment, people across all North America wear orange on Sept. 30. The color orange was chosen because a residential school survivor, Phyllis Jack Webstad, recalled on her first day of school how she was stripped of her clothes — including an orange shirt her grandmother bought her — and forced to wear a uniform. The shirt was never returned to her.

Students and staff are shown on Friday in Gowanda outside the school entrance. Submitted Photo.

Now, the orange shirt symbolizes how the identity of the students forced into the residential schooling system was stripped from them. The phrase “Every Child Matters” was chosen by the Orange Shirt Society, the group leading the effort to raise awareness to represent the cause.

“I think (the demonstration) was really supported well, even more than last year. … Our student population, they are very empathetic and respectful of how they treat others. I’ve always been very impressed with their maturity in my time here,” Anderson said.

Gowanda High School students made orange t-shirt pins with Ms. Mary Mohawk to share with faculty and staff on Friday. Submitted Photo.

Silver Creek students, pictured on Friday in the school, wore orange to participate in Orange Shirt Day. Submitted Photo.