09/30/2026
PORTLAND, Ore. – Staff at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's Portland office wear orange shirts on Sept. 30 to observe Orange Shirt Day, joining people across North America in recognizing the harm done by the Indian residential school, commonly known as boarding schools, system.
The day, established in 2013, draws on the account of Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose new orange shirt was taken from her on her first day of residential school and never returned. The shirt has become a symbol of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children. The observance now also honors the children who attended these schools, remembers those who never came home and acknowledges the lasting impact on Indigenous families and communities.
CRITFC, created by the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and Nez Perce Tribe in 1977 to protect treaty-reserved fishing rights and salmon, and First Foods, designed this year's shirt to reflect that work.
An adult salmon curls protectively around juvenile salmon, symbolizing elders caring for the next generation. The design carries "Every Child Matters" in English and Ichiskíin.
