WAREHAM — Orange shirts brightened classrooms throughout Wareham Public Schools on Sept. 30 as students and staff remembered the Indigenous children who were separated from their families and sent to residential and boarding schools, and honored the history and culture of the Wampanoag people.
According to Wareham Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Amy Hartley-Matteson, the district took part in Orange Shirt Day at the encouragement of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Tribal Education Department. Designed around the message “Every Child Matters,” Orange Shirt Day recognizes the importance of Indigenous children’s culture, language, and identity. Students and staff at Wareham Elementary School, Wareham Middle School and Wareham High School were encouraged to participate in the observance.
Orange Shirt Day traces its origins to a 2013 residential school commemoration and reunion held in Williams Lake, British Columbia. The orange shirt itself became a symbol of the experience of Phyllis Webstad, a residential school survivor. Superintendent Hartley-Matteson said Sept. 30 was selected because it corresponds with the time of year when Indigenous children were historically taken from their families and sent to residential schools in Canada and federal Indian boarding schools in the United States.
In recognizing the day, Wareham Public Schools acknowledged that its schools are located on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Wampanoag Nation, known as the People of the First Light. Superintendent Hartley-Matteson said the Wampanoag people have maintained deep cultural, spiritual, and historical connections to Southeastern Massachusetts and its coastal waters for thousands of years.
“We want our students to know the history of the community they call home and understand why this day matters,” Superintendent Hartley-Matteson said. “We’re grateful to the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Tribal Education Department for asking us to take part. Seeing students and staff across our schools wear orange was a meaningful way to show our support for Indigenous children and families.”
Following the observance, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Tribal Education Department thanked Wareham Public Schools for participating and said the level of involvement by students and staff was meaningful to the Tribal community.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s Tribal Education Department also expressed interest in visiting Wareham Public Schools next year to provide students and staff with additional education about Orange Shirt Day and its history.
