09/30/2026
đđ¶ Tonight at 6pm đ¶đ
The Sweetgrass Society would like to invite everyone to walk with us on September 30th for Every Child Matters Day. All participants are encouraged to wear orange and welcome to bring posters. Please meet us in the courtyard (behind Cowan Hall) at 6 PM.
Every Child Matters Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is observed annually on September 30th across the United States and Canada. The day is intended to bring awareness to the effects and impacts of cultural assimilation through boarding and residential schools for Indigenous peoples and honoring the lives that were lost at these schools. The orange shirt, "inspired by Phyllis (Jack) Webstadâs experience of having her orange shirt, given to her by her grandmother, taken away upon arrival to the Mission school. The orange color reminded Webstad of her experience and âhow my feelings didnât matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one caredââ (Cultural Survival, n.d.). We walk to bring awareness to the history of boarding and residential schools, the survivors, the children who never made it home, and the direct, lateral, and unacknowledged effects of these schools.
This movement has initiated and allows for conversations to take place regarding what occurred before, during, and after boarding schools at an international observation. These conversations not only create meaningful discussions, but acknowledge ethnocide, colonialism, cultural assimilation, generational trauma, systematic abuse, and accountability. The history of the U.S. Government and Native American peoples is vast and intricate. A most agreed upon starting point of boarding schools in the U.S. is found where army officer, R.H. Pratt, stood. He coined the term âkill the Indian in him, and save the manâ and later founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879. Although many schools for Native Americans had already begun on reservation lands that were being ran by churches, Carlisle was the first federally funded boarded school. This institution helped model and inspire following boarding schools. Between 1819 and 1969, there were over 526 boarding schools that operated in the U.S. (NABS, n.d.).
While attending these schools, harrowing experiences that resulted in trauma took place inside and outside of these schools. If parents and families did not want to send their child to attend, food rations were withheld, the children were forcibly removed, and imprisonment were repercussions that many families faced. Inside the school, anything that reflected Indigenous culture was often met with force. Children attending these schools were often experiencing or witnessing physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse. Braids and long hair were cut, children were harshly punished for speaking their language, clothing was taken- there are many stories that are open wounds in survivorâs minds. Even more so, many children never returned home and are laid to rest in unmarked graves with little information.
Although this is a fraction of the history of Indigenous peoples, this discussion connects other issues on and outside of Indian Country- many traditions were lost, languages went extinct, and knowledge was no longer shared in the name of protection. Observing September 30th respects, honors, and remembers the survivors and all victims of the Indigenous boarding school system.
For any questions, please call 406-265-3506 or 406-265-4126
Additional readings of the history of Boarding Schools in the U.S. and Every Child Matters Day:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/a-century-of-trauma-at-boarding-schools-for-native-american-children-in-the-united-states
https://boardingschoolhealing.org/us-indian-boarding-school-history/
https://www.bia.gov/service/federal-indian-boarding-school-initiative
