Courtesy of the Native American Cultural Center

The Native American Cultural Center held an event on Cross Campus on Monday in remembrance of Orange Shirt Day, also referred to as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

On Sept. 30, Orange Shirt Day honors the survivors and victims of Canada’s residential school system, recognizing the lasting impact on Indigenous families. It’s estimated that at least 6,000 children died at residential schools in Canada, though due to incomplete records, the number could be higher. In the U.S., it is estimated that at least 937 Indigenous school children died in abusive boarding schools. These deaths have been attributed to unhygienic conditions created by their administrations; physical, sexual and emotional abuse; malnutrition; and attempts to escape these institutions.

Orange Shirt Day stems from the story of Phyllis Webstad (Northern Secwepemc), who, at six years old, had her new orange shirt from the outfit her grandmother picked out taken from her when she first arrived at a residential school.

These practices were attempts of “stripping your identity,” said Dawn Bazely, Canadian Bicentennial Visiting Professor at Yale. Now, the orange shirt symbolizes a commitment to remembering the Native and Indigenous children and families affected by this chapter in history. 

“This is really serious, and you can never do enough reparation,” Bazely told the News. “The intergenerational trauma is just huge. So Canada is doing a lot, there are these calls to action, universities are taking it quite seriously. … Still, I think, there are a lot of people in Canada, particularly in urban areas, where it may be more difficult to actually interact and socialize with Indigenous people,” 

The NACC, along with its affiliated students and organizations, organized a space to educate students and share orange bracelets and around 140 orange shirts with a symbolistic design to signify the day and raise awareness. Members of the Yale MacMillan Committee on Canadian Studies along with the Yale Chaplain’s office attended the event in support. 

Matthew Makomenaw (Odawa Tribe), director of the NACC, shared that the event has evolved and this is the first time the event has been fully carried out, as last year the weather did not allow for the event. He also told the News that he sees it growing in the future by including more speakers and a larger awareness and visibility. 

Makomenaw and Reid Hightower ’26 (Ohkay Owingeh) also said that to honor the lost lives and survivors, the NACC organized to have Harkness Tower lit up bright orange on Monday night. According to Makomenaw, this is one of the first times the change in color of Harkness has been made to signify a special commemorated day like Orange Shirt Day.

Joshua Ching ’26 (Kanaka Maoli) told the News that as part of the NACC student staff and as president of Students of the Indigenous Peoples of Oceania at Yale, he was at the event to support “our Indigenous relatives on the North American continent.”

Ching noted that though boarding schools have been documented and existed in Hawaii as well but not in many other places across the Pacific, the support he provides today is also because of the “relationship to our neighbors on the American continent.” 

The memorial day has made its way down to North America as more college and university organizations begin to recognize it.

“I think these events of remembrance are especially important because it’s not something that is necessarily celebrated in the mainstream … That’s the importance of having the Native American Cultural Center and the Center for Native Studies, that we all come out here and let people know about these holidays that are important to our cultures and our families,” Hightower told the News.

Bazely said that in Canada, where she primarily taught before coming to Yale, Orange Shirt Day is a largely recognized event across educational institutions but many Canadians are still unaware of the day. 

She described the history of the event and how after continued testimony and advocacy by Native and Indigenous communities, the Canadian Federal Government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission generated a report highlighting the work that non Indigenous peoples of Canada should be doing to educate themselves.

“I think it is really important as we try to continue to educate people about the history that impacts Indigenous people and more broadly, the types of relationships that larger US institutions have with Indigenous communities. … It’s generally about raising awareness because those are the things that need to be spoken about and can never be forgotten,” Ching told the News.

The Native American Cultural Center is located at 26 High St.