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Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Heard Museum in recognition of National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools known as Orange Shirt Day. On this day, we honor and remember the Indigenous children taken from their families and placed in boarding schools.
We are deeply grateful to the program speakers, Elena Selestewa (Hopi), Visitor Center Specialist at the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center, and Patty Talahongva (Hopi), boarding school survivor and Chief Programming and Engagement Officer at the Heard Museum. Thank you for sharing your personal histories and helping us reflect on the lasting impacts of the American Indian Boarding School system.
Throughout the program, attendees engaged in journaling and reflection, responding to prompts like:
We encourage all to reflect on these questions, learn about the boarding school experience, and commit to reconciliation, recognizing the harm done and the support needed to bring healing to survivors, families, and all Indigenous Tribes & Peoples.
Special thanks to The Heard Museum for hosting this important event and for continuing to provide space for truth-telling, healing, and Indigenous voices.
Orange Shirt Day, observed on September 30, honors the Indigenous children taken from their families and placed in residential and boarding schools. The day began with the story of Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, whose new orange shirt—gifted by her grandmother—was taken from her on her first day at St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. Her experience reflects the broader history of Indigenous children across Turtle Island who were stripped of their identities, languages, and cultures. The orange shirt has become a powerful symbol that Every Child Matters—and a call to remember these histories, honor the resilience of survivors, and commit to truth-telling and reconciliation.
Reflect on the American Indian Boarding School experience with guest speakers Elena Selestewa (Hopi), Visitors Center Specialist at the Phoenix Indian School Visitors Center, and boarding school survivor Patty Talahongva (Hopi), Chief Programming and Engagement Officer at the Heard Museum — who will share their personal histories and connections to Boarding Schools.
While you’re here, catch a special film screening of REMAINING NATIVE (2025), following the journey of 17-year-old Native American runner Kutoven “Ku” Stevens as he pursues his athletic dreams while confronting his family’s boarding school history.
This program is presented in recognition of the Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools, also known as Orange Shirt Day—a time to honor and remember the children taken from their families and placed in residential schools. Guests are encouraged to wear orange as a visible act of solidarity and to help raise awareness.
The Phoenix Indian Industrial School, known as the Phoenix Indian School in later years, was established in 1891, operating as a boarding school for American Indian children by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Initially focused on forced assimilation of Native American children into mainstream American culture, it later transitioned into a traditional high school, and its history is marked by both trauma and resilience. The school served as a site of cultural suppression and, later, a place where students began to reclaim their heritage. Located at the corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road, much of this site was transferred to the City of Phoenix from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1990, which the city used to create Steele Indian School Park. Since its closing, Phoenix has saved three historic buildings and placed them on the National Register of Historic Places. One of those historic buildings, the former grammar school building, is the same building Native American Connections and Phoenix Indian Center has renovated and transformed into the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center — which offers a historic gallery, individual and group tours, educational programming, and conference and event spaces to the community.
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