Orange Shirt Day 2026: Gedakina remembers Native youth enrolled in Residential Schools

The Gedakina community gathered to mark Orange Shirt Day in remembrance of the young people who were forcibly enrolled in Indian Residential Schools as part of a national effort to strip Native People of their culture and connections. While many survived the traumas of this abusive system, countless others died.

In Maine, Lindsay and Danielle sang the Children’s Honor Song. In both Vermont and Maine, workshop participants shared refreshments, then painted orange shirt pins. In Vermont, Gedakina employees gathered for lunch and shared the history of Orange Shirt Day with the community. We hold the memory of the children who suffered at the hands of the Federal Indian Boarding School System and insist: Every child matters.