On September 30 each year, people across North America wear orange to honor Indigenous children taken from their families to residential and boarding schools, including those who never came home, and the survivors and families who live with that history today.
The day began with a single shirt. In 1973, 6-year-old Phyllis Webstad, of the Stswecem'c Xgat'tem First Nation, arrived at St. Joseph's Mission residential school near Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada, wearing a bright orange shirt her grandmother had bought her. It was taken from her on arrival, and she never wore it again. Webstad shared her story publicly in 2013, and Orange Shirt Day, with its message "Every Child Matters," grew from it. Canada has observed September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation since 2021.
In the United States, the history is only more recently being formally acknowledged. In October 2024, at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, President Joe Biden issued the federal government's first formal apology for the Indian boarding school system, which for roughly 150 years separated Native children from their families, languages and cultures. He called the policy "a sin on our soul."
For many members of the Cornell community, this history is not abstract. “It is family history, carried in their hearts,” said Kurt Jordan, interim faculty director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) and professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “And while Indigenous communities are far more than the harms inflicted upon them, honoring that strength means facing the truth of what happened, not looking away from it. Watching these films can be a meaningful way to listen, and we encourage viewers to approach them with care: to center Indigenous voices, to be mindful that some content is difficult, and to give themselves and others space.”
Orange Shirt Day is a crucial reminder of damage that the U.S. and Canadian governments did to Indigenous children, families, and communities, say the organizers.
“This is far from ancient history, since the schools still were operational at shockingly recent dates. In addition to those students who have gone on, there are many, many survivors of the schools among us today. Orange Shirt Day recognizes their experiences and resilience at the same time as it looks to the future," Jordan said.
Among the recommended films is "Ghosts" (2022), a short directed by Jeffrey Palmer (Kiowa), associate professor of performing and media arts (A&S) and filmmaker, and written by Austin Bunn, associate professor of performing and media arts (A&S). The film shares the true story of three Kiowa boys who fled a government boarding school in Anadarko, Oklahoma, in the winter of 1891. Palmer grew up hearing the story from his father and grandfather. "I wanted to tell the story from the three boys' point of view," he told the Chronicle in 2022, when the film premiered on campus.
“Using varied storytelling approaches, these films invite us to bear witness to Indigenous resistance to the forms of cultural erasure that were endemic in the residential school system,” said Molly Ryan, director of Cornell Cinema. “They testify to the strength of Indigenous communities and filmmakers who are carrying forward individual survival stories, complex family histories, and communal efforts to honor those who suffered and were lost.”
To commemorate Orange Shirt Day, the undergraduate student organization Native American and Indigenous Students at Cornell (NAISAC), in collaboration with the Indigenous Graduate Student Association (IGSA) and the AIISP, will host a remembrance walk beginning at 5 p.m. at the front door of Caldwell Hall.
Recommended viewing
"Ghosts" (2022, dir. Jeffrey Palmer). Short narrative about three Kiowa boys who fled an Oklahoma boarding school in 1891.
"Sugarcane" (2024, dirs. Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie). Documentary investigating St. Joseph's Mission, the same school Webstad attended.
"Remaining Native" (2025, dir. Paige Bethmann). Documentary following Paiute runner Ku Stevens as he retraces his great-grandfather's escape from the Stewart Indian School in Nevada.
"We Were Children" (2012, dir. Tim Wolochatiuk). Survivors' accounts from the National Film Board of Canada.
“Older than America” (2008, dir. Georgina Lightning) A woman's haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest's sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities she experienced at a residential school.
"Indian Horse" (2017, dir. Stephen Campanelli). Feature adapted from Richard Wagamese's novel about an Ojibwe boy who survives residential school through hockey.
Some of these films depict abuse and loss. Students seeking support can contact the AIISP at Akwe:kon or Cornell Health's Counseling and Psychological Services.
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