Campus to mark events for Orange Shirt Day

Members of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will mark National Day of Remembrance/Orange Shirt Day with events Thursday through Monday, which include a walk on Monday to remember the children placed in Indigenous boarding schools.

The public is welcome to attend these free educational events to learn more about the schools and their effect on communities.

On Thursday, there will be a 6 p.m. showing of the documentary “Unseen Tears” in Swarts Hall Room 237. The viewing will be followed by small group discussions where audience members can ask questions and help process feelings raised by the documentary. The movie features interviews with survivors of the Thomas Indian School in Irving, N.Y., and Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. In the documentary, survivors speak about traumatic separation from their families, abuse and a systematic assault on their language and culture.

There were more than 500 boarding schools in 19th- and 20th-century America that Indigenous children were often forced to attend. There they were beaten, starved or otherwise abused when they spoke their Native languages.

Survivors and their descendants have adopted the orange shirt as a symbol to commemorate the residential school experience. It originates from a story about a 6-year-old girl who lived at the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in Canada, where the orange shirt her grandmother had bought her was taken from her and replaced with a school uniform.

Tyrone Bowen, a member of Pitt-Bradford’s men’s lacrosse team who is Seneca, is helping to organize the documentary viewing and remembrance walk. The Seneca are part of the Haudenosaunee Nation that invented lacrosse, which is more than a game to the Indigenous people who play it.

Bowen’s great-grandfather, Ralph Bowen, was both opposed to the construction of the Kinzua Dam and a survivor of the Thomas Indian School.

“My great-grandfather was a survivor who fought relentlessly so that I could speak our language and embrace our sacred game,” he said. “Each time I pick up my stick, I play in remembrance of those who suffered and those who were lost.

“This Orange Shirt Day let’s stand together to ensure their stories are never forgotten. By wearing orange, we acknowledge their hardships and contribute toward the ongoing journey toward healing and reconciliation.”

At mealtimes today through Sunday in the Frame-Westerberg Commons and Bromeley Quadrangle, Bowen and his men’s lacrosse teammates will provide information on how to remember and honor Indigenous children. They will also have Every Child Matters Orange T-shirts for sale to support the Orange Shirt Society.

Monday’s Campus Day of Remembrance/Every Child Matters Walk begins at noon, starting at the small traffic circle by the Commons. Students and staff will speak about the meaning of the day and how to make a difference. Those attending and even those unable to attend are asked to wear orange.

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