Ali Upshaw, a redshirt sophomore on the University of New Mexico women’s cross country team, spoke in Navajo as she introduced herself to media Tuesday at the Tow Diehm building.
The room on the third floor is usually reserved for press conferences for coaches to talk about upcoming games. Upshaw instead talked about a day of remembrance very important to her.
She reminded everyone that Friday is Orange Shirt Day, which promotes awareness about the Indian residential school system that continues to impact Native American communities in the United States and Canada. It’s a day of reconciliation that honors children who were forced into Indian boarding schools, and the day remembers those who never returned home.