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US finds 500 Native American deaths in boarding school so far

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. –

A first federal study of its kind on Native American boarding schools in more than a century that sought to integrate Native children into white society identified more than 500 student deaths at facilities, but officials say that number could grow exponentially as research continues.

The Interior Department report released Wednesday expands to more than 400 schools known to have operated across the United States for 150 years, beginning in the early 19th century and to coincide with the displacement of many tribes from the region. their ancestral land. It identified deaths in the records of about 20 schools.

The dark history of Native American boarding schools – where children were coerced by their families, forbidden to speak their language, and often abused – is deeply felt across India and thought many generations.

Many children never return home, and the Home Office says with further investigation, the known number of student deaths could be in the thousands or even tens of thousands. Causes include illness, accidental injury and abuse, officials said.

“Each of those children is a missing family member, someone who was unable to live out their purpose on this Earth because they lost their lives as part of this terrible system,” said the Home Secretary. Deb Haaland, whose paternal grandparents were sent to boarding school for several years as a child.

The agency is in the process of reviewing thousands of boxes containing more than 98 million pages of records, with the help of many indigenous people who have experienced their own trauma and pain. Calculating the number of deaths will be difficult because records are not always kept.

Volume two of the report will address burial sites as well as the federal government’s financial investment in schools and the impact of boarding schools on Indigenous communities, the Interior Department said. To date, it has identified at least 53 burial sites at or near boarding schools, not all of which have marked graves. ‘

Tribal leaders have forced the agency to ensure that any child remains found receive proper care and return them to their tribe, if desired. Bryan Newland, assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the Home Office, said the burial site would not be made public to avoid disturbance.

At Wednesday’s news conference, Haaland choked up with tears as she described how the period of boarding school perpetuated poverty, mental health disorders, substance abuse and premature death in indigenous communities.

“Acknowledging the effects of the federal Indian boarding school system cannot just be a historical calculation,” she said. “We must also map out a path forward to deal with these legacy issues.”

Haaland, a Laguna native, announced an initiative last June to investigate the troubling legacy of boarding schools and uncover the truth about the government’s role in them. The 408 schools her agency identified operated in 37 states or territories, many of which are in Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The Home Office acknowledges that the number of schools identified may change as more data is collected. The coronavirus pandemic and budget constraints have hampered some of the research over the past year, Newland said.

The United States government directly operates some boarding schools. Catholic, Protestant, and other churches operated others with federal funding, supported by U.S. laws and policies intended to “civilize” Native Americans. The federal government still oversees more than 180 schools in nearly two dozen states that serve Native Americans, but the missions of these schools are very different from what they used to be.

The Home Office report was prompted by the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at former residential school sites in Canada that have brought back painful memories for Indigenous communities.

On Wednesday, Haaland also announced a year-long tour for Interior Department officials that will allow boarding alumni from Native American tribes, Alaska Native villages, and communities. Native Hawaiians share their stories as part of a permanent oral history collection.

Boarding school conditions vary across the United States and Canada. While some former students have reported positive experiences, children at schools often suffer military-style discipline and have their hair cut long.

Early curricula focused heavily on outdated vocational skills, including housework for girls.

A subcommittee of the US House of Representatives on Thursday will hear testimony on the fact-making and healing committee bill modeled after a committee in Canada. Several church groups are supporting the legislation.

Deborah Parker, executive director of the Healing Alliance for Native American Boarding Schools, tearfully recalls stories of a boarding school on the Tulalip reservation where she came from that had a small cell and a basement where at least one girl was regularly chained to a fireplace and beaten. She said others hid to shield themselves from abuse.

“I am concerned as we begin to open these doors for our boarding school survivors to come forward and share their stories,” she said.

The Coalition of Boarding Schools, which created an early inventory of schools and shared its research with the Home Office, commended the Home Office’s work but noted that its authority limited.

“Our children deserve to be brought home,” Parker said. “We are here for their justice. And we will not stop campaigning until the United States is fully accountable for the genocide committed against indigenous children. ”

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