09/30/2026
September 30th is observed as Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
This is not ancient history.
Hear me now:
Every Single One of Your Indigenous Friends are Either a Residential School Survivor, a Survivor's Child, a Survivor's Grandchild, OR All Three.
Every
Single.
One.
Residential schools were designed to wipe out Indigenous languages and cultures by assimilating Native American children into White society. At these schools, children were sexually assaulted, physically abused, and/or emotionally traumatized.
The last of these homes closed in the 1990s.
The impacts of these schools still affect Indigenous communities to this day.
RECOGNIZE, ACKNOWLEDGE, CELEBRATE AND UPLIFT INDIGENOUS HERITAGE, LEGACIES AND COMMUNITIES.
This is my grandpa Tom. I grew up fearing old man Peterman like a boogeyman. My grandpa was a champion of Native voting, like his shirt portrays, because he understood that just because you don't live by their sword does not mean you won't die by it.
Listen to our past, or live it yourself.
