Members of the Ho-Chunk Nation came together on September 30 to recognize Orange Shirt Day, a day of remembrance and reflection for the Indigenous children who were taken from their families and forced into boarding schools.

     Staff and community members wore bright orange shirts to honor survivors and remember those who never made it home.

     Observed annually on September 30, Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, began in 2013 after residential school survivor Phyllis Jack Webstad shared her story.

     At age six, Webstad attended the St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia wearing a new orange shirt her grandmother had bought for her.

     Upon arrival, the shirt was taken away and never returned, a moment that came to symbolize the loss of identity, culture, and childhood experienced by thousands of Indigenous children across the U.S. and Canada.

     The color orange also holds cultural meaning for many Indigenous nations, symbolizing the sun, healing, and a bright path forward.

     Ho-Chunk Nation departments and enterprises, including Ho-Chunk Gaming Black River Falls, Madison, Nekoosa, Wisconsin Dells, and the Ho-Chunk House of Wellness, participated in the observance.