By Graham Lee
Brewer
At least 500 Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children have died in government-run or sponsored Indian boarding schools, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of the Interior (DOI).
The report identifies more than 400 schools and more than 50 grave sites, and notes that more graves are likely to be found.
It is the first time in history that the government has attempted to fully investigate the horrors it has inflicted on Native American children for decades and acknowledge the magnitude of what has happened.
But the data revealed still falls well short of some estimates made by independent organizations and researchers and does not address how those children died or who was responsible.
The report also sheds little new light on the physical and sexual abuse that generations of indigenous children suffered in schools.
The report and accompanying press release acknowledge the harm to children, but stop short of offering an apology from the federal government, which tribal leaders have demanded for decades.
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Dan Romero, or Walking Bird, of the Ute Indian Tribe, cleans children's graves with sage at the Sherman Indian School Cemetery in Riverside, California on July 18, 2021.MediaNews Group/The Riverside Pr / MediaNews Group via Getty Images
Last month, Pope Francis apologized for the Catholic Church's role in Canada's boarding school system, and First Nations leaders have demanded that he apologize in person when he visits the country this summer.
“The consequences of federal Indian boarding school policies, including the intergenerational trauma caused by family separation and the cultural eradication inflicted on generations of children as young as 4,
are heartbreaking and undeniable
,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. .
“We continue to see evidence of this attempt to forcibly assimilate indigenous peoples in the disparities these communities now face,” he added in his statement.
The report
identifies more than 500 child deaths
after examining records from 19 facilities, a small part of the total number of schools identified.
“As the investigation continues, the Department of the Interior expects the number of deaths to increase,” he says.
The figure is significantly lower than
some estimates, which are in the tens of thousands
.
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“The United States doesn't even know how many indigenous students went through these institutions, let alone how many actually died in them,” said Preston S. McBride, a historian and Comanche descendant.
McBride has recorded more than 1,000 student deaths at the four boarding schools he has studied, and estimates the total number of deaths could be as high as 40,000.
“
Every school had a cemetery
,” he said, “there are deaths that have occurred in or because of virtually every boarding school.”
Those deaths resulted from a variety of causes, from illness to abuse, McBride said, based on her review of historical records, which include letters written by students, parents and administrators.
Getting to the actual number would require a significant amount of time and research.
"I think we have a long way to go," McBride said.
The Department of the Interior investigation located 53 grave sites across the country, a number also expected to rise, but did not name the schools to prevent “well-documented grave robbing, vandalism and other disturbances of cemeteries.” natives".
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Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo citizen and the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, announced the investigation last June.
The purpose of it is to provide a basis for the Government to assess a troubling part of its history, investigating and locating possible graves, repatriating the remains of children and offering resources and access to affected communities.
In this way, he hopes to address the impact boarding schools had, and the consequences that still persist.
In the early 19th century,
the government stole Native American children
from their communities and forced them to attend boarding schools, where they were stripped of their languages and traditions, given English names, and trained for military drills.
The report found
408 schools in 37 states
that were established between 1801 and 1969 and received funding or other forms of support from the federal government.
Half of them also received support from religious institutions or organizations, "including funds, infrastructure and personnel."
Many religious institutions also received federal money for each Indian child housed.
It also reveals a method followed by the Government to locate and persecute indigenous children, to absorb them and dispossess their tribal nations of the land.
He presents the history of that method, developed in large part by Thomas Jefferson.
While this is a story that may be new to many Americans, it is well known to many in Indian Country.
Survivors and their families have documented countless examples of systemic abuse and generational trauma, with schools remaining open until the 1990s.
The report, intended as a first step, includes a recommendation for continued research and additional funding.
Other recommendations include creating a repository for information collected by federal agencies and private institutions and providing more funding for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the federal law that regulates the repatriation of Native American remains.
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While acknowledging an era of violence perpetrated against Native American children,
it does not guarantee that the Government will take immediate action
to address the devastation left behind by its policies.
The report notes that the federal government has never provided a forum for survivors or their descendants to voluntarily detail their experiences.
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In Canada, following the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission, the government recently allocated $4.7 billion to support indigenous communities affected by their residential schools.
The United States does not have a similar commission or funding.
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Two measures before Congress could change that
.
Bills by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Democratic Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas, a Ho-Chunk Nation citizen, would create a truth and reconciliation commission in Indian boarding schools, providing a framework for how the government responds to tribal nations and citizens that its policies have negatively affected.
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation Thursday, and boarding school survivors can submit testimony about their experiences through May 26.
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Even if the measures pass,
they would still leave loopholes
that limit the government's ability to investigate the history of boarding schools, including an exemption that allows some religious organizations to opt out.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act applies only to lands that are under federal control or institutions that receive federal funds.
The government has little control over graves on private land and records held by private organizations, such as the Catholic Church, which operated several indigenous boarding schools.
The report does not address that issue, but recommends that the second phase of the investigation compile a list of organizations that supported and benefited from the boarding school system.
And he recommends consulting with the tribes for the recovery and co-management of the burial sites.
Still, the recommendations do not include a clear path to action.