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Staff at Gowanda High School and Middle School wear orange on Thursday. submitted photo
Every year on September 30, people across North America wear orange shirts to help spread a message: Every Child Matters.
The significance of the day comes from Phyllis Webstad, responding to the treatment of First Nations children in Canada. Webstad wore an orange shirt to school on the first day at one of those schools and was then stripped of his clothes, with the shirt never returned to him.
The day also serves as a reminder of the many anonymous graves of Native American children that have been discovered. For this reason, this day resonated particularly with Native Americans in the United States and Canada, and local schools also observe the day.
“The movement has grown over the years to include special events that focus on the idea that Every Child Counts and the focus has become recognition of the trauma that victims and survivors have experienced,” said Gowanda Title VI coordinator Lea Golden. “In addition to recognizing how entire nations and tribal communities continue to be affected by the forced assimilation of Native Americans across the United States and Canada.”
Gowanda and Silver Creek are two of the schools that take the September 30 observation seriously. Golden said about 25 percent of Gowanda’s students are either tribally registered Native Americans or descendants of Native Americans.
“The majority of these students and families are linked to one or more Six Nations tribes”, Golden said. “Most have ties to the Seneca Cattaraugus Nation Territory, located a short distance from the Gowanda School District.”
Native Americans in the region are not exempt from schools like the ones Webstad first went through. Thousands of Native American children were separated from their families in the 1860s and were forced to assimilate by learning English and were not allowed to speak their mother tongue or participate in traditional ceremonies. The Thomas Indian School was located in the territory of Cattaraugus, and the impact of the school is still felt everywhere. Although this particular school closed in 1957, some of these places closed as little as 20 years ago.
“Our community has been directly affected by the challenges of the Indian residential school system since the Thomas Indian School was located in the territory of Cattaraugus”, Golden said. “There are still buildings that were once part of the Thomas Indian School Complex in the area where the Seneca Nation office buildings, library, senior’s facility and health care centers are located in Irving. “
Likewise, Silver Creek has an equally high percentage of Native American students and an equally close proximity to the campus of the former residential school. For the same reasons Golden posed, Silver Creek Title VI coordinator Mary Williams said the school recognizes this story and does its best to raise awareness.
“We have a boarding school less than 11 miles from Silver Creek”, she said. “We have staff and students from one to three generations of residential schools. The importance is therefore enormous. We need a change, we need this tragic story to be told, we need this day to break the ice on our history. Residential schools are not mentioned once in the history books, yet it was an effort by the US government and the churches to wipe out one race of people. A race of people who have gone through so much to survive and no entity has taken responsibility for it. “
See ORANGE, Page A6
Due to the focus of the day and Gowanda’s local connection, Golden said there was a high turnout from students, faculty, and staff, and the administration in Gowanda had incredibly supported the people kissing. the day. And to prepare for the day, the Title VI Native American Education program coordinated the distribution of educational materials for teachers to integrate into regular classroom instruction. Golden also said the program is shared with students from Lake Shore and Silver Creek as well.
Gowanda’s fourth grade teacher Caroline Young engaged her students in her class in Gowanda. With Young’s guidance, the students created a shield from an old dance hoop, creating a circle decorated with feathers and the words “Remember, honor and love”. The ring was also adorned with pearls to symbolize peace and had a centerpiece with the phrase “Every child matters.”
“The hoop is sacred in many cultures”, said Young. “It reminds us of the endless circle of life. It symbolizes peace, wholeness and well-being and reminds us all of our bond within the circle.
The collaborative nature of the project is also helping some of Gowanda’s younger students learn about residential schools and draw more attention to the trauma experienced by their loved ones.
Golden said the importance of the day continued to grow as more and more anonymous graves were discovered. The opportunity offered by the day to recognize the tragedies suffered by Native American peoples has been seized by more and more places over time.
“This day is an opportunity to focus not only on the cold and brutal history, but also to share knowledge on the impact of families over several years and in 2 countries”, Golden said. “The trauma is far-reaching and has had an impact on tribal languages, cultural practices and social norms within indigenous communities. It is time to not only learn more about the trials and tribulations these children and families faced, but also to heal from all the losses suffered by entire Native American nations. “
Additionally, Williams said that to maintain the day’s growth, consistency of observation is essential.
“We will continue to support and organize a Wear Orange day here in Silver Creek”, Williams said. “We are already planning for next year and how it can be bigger and better. We have had discussions in previous years and over the summer to integrate residential school education into our social studies classes in both middle and high school.
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