Federal investigation seeks to uncover the painful history of Native American boarding schools
A teacher sits with Native students at the Morris Indian Boarding School circa 1895. Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Debra Haaland, a former member of Congress from New Mexico, is the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary and an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna.
Last month, Haaland ordered a federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to recover the histories of the institutions, where she says children endured routine injury and abuse. Native American leaders say the investigation represents a huge step toward acknowledging a devastating loss that has been overlooked by those outside their communities.
In her memo, Haaland said she wants the U.S. investigation to identify the children who attended and their tribal affiliations, along with a particular emphasis on finding records of cemeteries or burial sites connected with the schools that may contain unidentified human remains. Federally run off-reservation schools dotted the West and Midwest, from Arizona to Montana to Michigan to Wisconsin, according to a map created by Dickinson University for a digital resource center for the Carlisle school.
Some advocates want Congress to take the next step and create a formal truth commission. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in the coming weeks plans to reintroduce legislation forming one.
Read the complete article on the Minnesota Reformer website.