09/27/2026
Every Child Matters
September 30 is Orange Shirt Day; a day we remember Indigenous children who were sent away to boarding schools in the United States and residential schools in Canada. The larger movement, started in Canada in 2013 and reached Alaska in 2016, was inspired by the experiences of residential school survivor and activist Phyllis Webstad. Phyllis was six years old when she was sent to St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. On the first day of school, she wore a bright orange shirt chosen for her by her grandmother. The shirt was taken away and replaced with a school uniform. Although Phyllis’ orange shirt represents a loss of culture and identity, the movement now uses it as a symbol of reconciliation, hope, and remembering. September 30 was made a federal holiday by the Canadian government in 2021 and is known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In the United States it is observed as the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools.
Thirty of the 526 boarding schools in the United States were located in Alaska, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (https://boardingschoolhealing.org/list-of-indian.../). The history of boarding and residential schools has been understudied, but more institutions are now being identified. The Alaska Native Heritage Center (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/.../74c3be9251284ac1a8e72c95...) lists over 100 government and religious schools throughout the state. Many Native children from Southern Southeast Alaska attended the Wrangell Institute, Sitka Industrial Training School (Sheldon Jackson Institute), or Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka, while some were sent out of state to the Chemawa Indian School in Oregon or the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.
A pin bearing the phrase, “Every Child Matters” is this month’s featured artifact. The phrase has become the central message of the Orange Shirt Day movement, symbolizing that every child’s life, culture, and dignity matter. The enamel pin has an orange background with an original formline design by local Tsimshian artist Ken Decker. The design represents the four Tsimshian clans: Wolf, Raven, Killer Whale, and Eagle, arranged in a clockwise orientation.
