UINO Chairperson calls for national investigation into boarding schools

This Orange Shirt Day, the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma is calling for the United States and Canada to honor Indian boarding school victims and survivors with “honesty and action” by launching an investigation into every boarding school.

“United Indian Nations of Oklahoma calls on everyone to take part in Orange Shirt Day to honor the survivors and remember the victims of residential Indian boarding schools,” Chief and UINO Chairperson Ben Barnes was quoted in a press release as saying. “Oklahoma had more of these schools than any other state, nearly 100, filled with Native children who were forcibly taken from their families and subjected to unimaginable trauma. Yet, to this day, there has been no true accountability.”

Orange Shirt Day began in Canada in 2013 to raise awareness and educate people about the trauma boarding school victims endured. It has been recognized every Sept. 30 in the U.S. and Canada since.