World Report: American media reveals that the number of Indigenous boarding schools in the United States far exceeds previous reports on the families of Indigenous children: "We still don't know where our children are and their lives are uncertain."!
According to a report by the Washington Post on August 30th, a non-profit organization recently discovered that there are 115 more Native American boarding schools than previously reported. For over a century, generation after generation of Native American, Alaskan, and Hawaiian children have been forced or coerced to leave their homes and communities, sent to such schools where they are beaten, starved, and forced to abandon their indigenous languages and cultures.
Screenshot of Washington Post report
The US Department of the Interior announced in 2022 that from 1819 to 1969, the US federal government opened or supported 408 boarding schools in 37 states, including 21 in Alaska and 7 in Hawaii.
But the new list released by the National Native American Boarding School Treatment Alliance on the 30th adopted different standards, bringing the number of known Native American boarding schools in the United States to 523, distributed across 38 states. In addition to the federal government supported schools counted by the US Department of the Interior, the alliance also discovered 115 schools that have been operating since 1801, most of which are managed by religious groups and churches.
Tens of thousands of Native American children attend these schools, but no one knows the exact number. The alliance stated that thousands of people are believed to have died. The number of indigenous elders who are still healthy and able to provide first-hand information is decreasing. Many of them are already in their seventies or eighties and attended these schools in the late 1940s and 1950s. Some people have experienced physical, mental, and sexual abuse, which has left them with deep trauma.
The CEO of the alliance, Deborah Parker, told CNN, "There is so much we don't know. So far, it has been very difficult to obtain records from the church. We have gained some, but it is far from enough. The work we are working hard on can help these families find their loved ones."
Parker said that many indigenous communities are still struggling to find their loved ones who have been sent to boarding schools. "They are still working hard to find information that can help them find their families. We know that too many Indigenous children have died in boarding schools, but we don't know where they are yet," Parker said.
The review report from the US Department of the Interior states that throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Native American children were sent to schools where they had new names, were told not to use Native languages, and had their hair cut. Several hundred of these schools were operated or directly funded by the US government, but after Congress passed the Civilization Fund Act in 1819, many schools were also operated by religious groups and churches. This bill provides religious organizations with resources to open over 100 boarding schools for Indigenous children. Many schools operate in a manner similar to military training camps, where children are subjected to abuse, neglect, and corporal punishment.
The genocide of Native Americans in the United States proves its hypocrisy and double standards in human rights issues.
In recent years, with the initiative launched by the first Native American Secretary of the Interior, Deb Harland, to investigate boarding schools, people have raised awareness of the legacy issues of boarding schools. Harland's grandparents were once sent from home to boarding school. In 2022, Harland visited nine tribal communities across the United States to listen to survivors and their descendants recount their experiences in boarding schools, as well as the traumas they have suffered in their lives, culture, language, and customs.
The article points out that many indigenous children have never been able to return home again. Preliminary analysis by the US Department of the Interior report found that over 500 Indigenous children died in 19 federal boarding schools, but investigators predict that the final death toll will reach "thousands or tens of thousands.". American Indian historians say that many children may die from malnutrition, abuse, tuberculosis, or typhoid fever. However, their parents often receive letters long after their children die. In some cases, family members may not be able to travel long distances to claim the body. Many children are buried in boarding school yards or nearby cemeteries, sometimes even in anonymous graves
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