September 30 is a day to remember Indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend boarding and residential schools, opens a new window. It is a day to honor the children who never returned home and to recognize survivors, families and communities who continue to carry the effects of that history. In the United States and Canada, the day calls attention to the harm caused by these institutions and the lasting effects of forced separation, cultural suppression and intergenerational trauma.
Orange Shirt Day, opens a new window was first observed in 2013 in Williams Lake, British Columbia, following the work of residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad. Webstad has shared the story of arriving at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in 1973 wearing a new orange shirt given to her by her grandmother. The shirt was taken from her when she arrived. Her experience became a powerful symbol of the ways residential schools separated Indigenous children from their families, cultures, languages, identities, and belongings.
In Canada, September 30 is officially recognized as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, opens a new window, with its roots in Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led movement that brings attention to the experiences of residential school survivors and the lasting legacy of the residential school system.
In the United States, September 30 has also become an important day to recognize the history and lasting impact of Indian boarding schools, where Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and communities.
As people in both countries wear orange, the day offers an opportunity to remember the children, honor survivors, acknowledge the families and communities affected and reflect on the ongoing importance of truth, remembrance and reconciliation. 
Forced assimilation schools in Colorado and beyond
- The Grand Junction Indian Boarding School, also known as the Teller Indian School, opens a new window or the Teller Institute, off-reservation boarding school, 1886-1911.
- Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School, opens a new window, off-reservation boarding school, 1892-1909.
- Ignacio Boarding School, opens a new window, on-reservation boarding school, 1884-1890.
- Good Shepherd Industrial School for Girls, opens a new window, boarding school, 1893-1895.
- Southern Ute Boarding School, opens a new window, on-reservation boarding school, starting in 1903.
- State Industrial School for Boys, opens a new window, boarding and reform school, 1890-1926.
- Navajo Day school, on-reservation day school, starting in 1910.
- Allen Day School, off-reservation day school, starting in 1912.
- Towaoc Day School, on-reservation day school, starting in 1916.
In 2024 the United States Department of the Interior put out a List of Federal Indian Boarding Schools, opens a new window. This information may be disturbing or distressing to some readers.
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