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- By Neely Bardwell
An emotional day in Indian Country yesterday, May 11, as the Department of Interior released their Boarding School Initiative Volume 1 Investigative Report. Shortly after this report was released, Native News Online spoke with Deb Parker and Dr. Samuel Torres, Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chief and Executive Officer of the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), respectively.
Parker spoke to the process of the initiative and her involvement with the initiative.
“We are still analyzing and we’re still trying to find the words to support this document and the words to find understanding in this time of exploration and this time of truth telling. It has been an emotional week,” she continues, “NABS has brought boarding school survivors to Washington D.C. to talk to senators and congressmen and women.”
Torres emphasized the groundbreaking nature of the report
“Really what I think was most enlightening for us and what has put us in a very profoundly reflective place today is that for the first time the federal government has put together a blueprint, an overall apparatus, that has identified that this is, for the first time, an accounting of all of the federal boarding schools,” he continues, “This is a foundational moment.”
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These stories must be heard.
This May, we are highlighting our coverage of Indian boarding schools and their generational impact on Native families and Native communities. Giving survivors of boarding schools and their descendants the opportunity to share their stories is an important step toward healing — not just because they are speaking, but because they are being heard. Their stories must be heard. Help our efforts to make sure Native stories and Native voices are heard in 2024. Please consider a recurring donation to help fund our ongoing coverage of Indian boarding schools. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
