TRIBE@ISU (Teaching, Reviving, Indigenizing, Beautifying, and Equalizing, Illinois State University Chapter) will host a vigil at 7 p.m. September 30 on the Quad. Titled the Day of Truth and Reconciliation Vigil, the event is a public commemoration of the tragic history and ongoing impacts of residential and boarding schools.
Also known as “Indian Residential Schools,” the Residential and Board School system took millions of Indigenous youth between the ages of 3 and 16 from their homes. Reaching across what is now the United States and Canada, the schools were sanctioned and funded by their governments, running until the 1970s in the United States and the 1990s in Canada. The schools stripped children of any Indigenous identity, with punishments that included being severely beaten for wearing traditional clothing or speaking any language but English.
“The number of children killed at these schools is countless,” said TRIBE President Nitakechi Muckintubbee (Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Meherrin), whose family lost children to the residential school in Hugo, Oklahoma.
This event will feature a tribal flag procession and ceremony as well as teachings. Those interested in participating can meet outside of Milner Library.
