At least 408 federal Native American boarding schools were run in the US and hundreds of students died, an Interior Department report says
Business InsiderMAR 14 2022
A probe has found that at least 973 Native American children died between 1819 and 1969 in US boarding schools meant to forcibly assimilate them into white society.According to a probe by the US Interior Department, at least 973 Native American children died between 1819 and 1969 in federal boarding schools.
The US Interior Department found at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 former schools. The actual number of deaths may reportedly be higher.The report, released Tuesday, claims to have found at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 former schools, which forcibly assimilated Indian children to "destroy their culture."
The dead included native Alaskans and Hawaiians, said the report commissioned by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, recommending an official apology.Acknowledging that the actual number of deaths may be higher and recommending an official apology, the report alleges the schools targeted American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people.
The traumaChurch, inflictedas bywell as the US government's, boardingmust schoolsapologize for indigenous children persists across generations, deeply affecting their communities.role Thein recentthe Interiorcultural Departmentdestruction probeand onlyforced highlightsassimilation theof graveinnocent injusticeschildren theyand faced.implausible Survivorsabuse and theirmistreatment descendantsof arechildren nowat workingfederal toand ensurereligious thisgroups-run darkboarding chapter of history is remembered and addressedschools.
TheWhile traumathis facedprobe byhighlights Nativethe Americangrave childreninjustices inIndigenous boardingchildren schools can be addressed through reconnecting with familyfaced, culture,the andsurvivors community. Emphasizing family stories and resiliencetheir helpsdescendants bridgemust thebe gapassured createdthat bythis forceddark assimilation.chapter Healingof alsohistory comeswill frombe expressingduly painacknowledged, throughwhich art and recognizing the historical injustices. Acknowledging the past and sharing experiences can lead to collective healing and restoration of their cultural identity.