According to a US Government investigation, hundreds of Native American kids were killed in Native American Board Schools.
According to an investigation report by the US Department of the Interior published Wednesday, nearly 500 children died in federal boarding schools that were designed to integrate Indigenous students. These findings show that several generations of Native American children were taken from their families and put into boarding schools. They were forbidden from speaking their indigenous languages and were not allowed to practice their customary religions. It was a goal to eradicate Indigenous cultures.
The boarding schools’ curriculum consisted mainly of military training and learning outdated pre-industrial-era professions. Many children were dressed in strict uniforms and had their hair cut. They suffered physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse from their caregivers.
Reports indicate that whipping was a common practice, as well as solitary confinement and whipping. The investigators found that these practices were common in schools, resulting in hundreds of children dying. On further investigation it is likely that the real number of children who died at these schools will come out to be in excess of tens of thousand.
Deb Haaland was the first Native American to be appointed Secretary of Interior. She argued that the US should repay Indigenous communities for any damage it has done.
“The consequences of federal Indian boarding school policies – including the intergenerational trauma caused by the family separation and cultural eradication inflicted upon generations of children as young as four years old – are heartbreaking and undeniable,”She said.
“We continue to see the evidence of this attempt to forcibly assimilate Indigenous people in the disparities that communities face. It is my priority to not only give voice to the survivors and descendants of federal Indian boarding school policies, but also to address the lasting legacies of these policies so Indigenous peoples can continue to grow and heal.”
On Wednesday’s publication, the document is just one volume. The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland is responsible for further investigations regarding alleged crimes committed against Native American children.
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