ONEIDA, Wis. (WFRV) -The Oneida Nation is honoring survivors of Indian residential boarding schools and remembering those who never made it home.
In a statement from the Tribal Historic Preservation Office, officials acknowledged the lasting impact of boarding schools, which sought to erase Native culture and left behind generations of trauma. Records show that many schools had their own cemeteries, with children often among those buried.
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The boarding school system operated across the United States from the 1800s into the 20th century, with at least ten known schools in Wisconsin. Native children, including those from the Oneida Nation, were taken from their families, forbidden from speaking their language, and pressured to abandon cultural traditions. The trauma from these policies continues to affect Native families and communities today.
The Oneida Nation and other tribes are working to repatriate children who died at boarding schools and return them to their homelands. Leaders say these efforts are part of ongoing healing and reconciliation.
The Oneida Nation observed Orange Shirt Day, a day to honor children who never returned home, survivors of residential schools, and their families. The story behind it starts in Canada, inspired by Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken from her on her first day at a residential school, a symbol of the loss of identity and culture faced by Indigenous children.
