
- Details
- By Jenna Kunze
This month, we’re compiling questions that our readers are asking us about Indian Boarding Schools and offering answers as reported by our team.
Today’s reader question about Indian Boarding Schools comes from Loretta O., who asked us:
What is the number of children buried at Chemawa Indian Boarding School?
Our reporter Jenna Kunze, who has written nearly half of our 100-plus stories about Indian Boarding Schools, provides this answer.
According to Native News Online's interview with the expert who has been surveying the grounds of Chemawa Indian Boarding School in central Oregon for eight years, the school has at least 222 unmarked graves belonging to Native children.
In January, Native News Online interviewed Marsha Small (Northern Cheyenne), a doctoral candidate at Montana State University who has been working with ground-penetrating radar for almost a decade. She is researching its use to locate and document deaths at two Indian boarding-school cemeteries: Chemawa Indian School, north of Salem, Ore., and another on-reservation boarding school in South Dakota.
Since 2014, Small has been surveying the cemetery at Chemawa, the longest-running Indian boarding school in the country. Opened in 1880, it is still operating today, now under the federal government’s Bureau of Indian Education. Through her work, Small located 222 unmarked graves, more than the 208 that records said existed there.
If you have a question about Indian Boarding Schools, please submit them to [email protected] or use the online form that can be found at the bottom of stories such as this one. Want to help us shine a light on the dark era of Indian Boarding Schools and their continued impact on Native families and communities today? Become a recurring donor for $5 or $10 a month, or make a one-time donation.
Tell Us What You Think
More Stories Like This
Federal Government Overhauls NAGPRA to Expedite Return of Native Ancestral RemainsTribes in Maine Spent Decades Fighting to Rebury Ancestral Remains. Harvard Resisted Them at Nearly Every Turn.
3 Million Acres Returned to Tribal Trust Ownership During Decade Long Program
Seneca Nation & New York State Agree to Short-Term Compact Gaming Extension, as Negotiations Continue
$1.58M Grant Will Reconnect Otoe-Missouria to Ancestral Lands
Together, we can educate, enlighten, and empower.
November is celebrated as “Native American Heritage Month.” At Native News Online, we amplify Native voices and share our relatives’ unique perspectives every day of the year. We believe every month should celebrate Native American heritage.If you appreciate our commitment to Native voices and our mission to tell stories that connect us to our roots and inspire understanding and respect, we hope you will consider making a donation this month to support our work. For those who commit to a recurring donation of $12 per month or more, or make a one-time donation of $150 or greater, we're excited to offer you a copy of our upcoming Indian Boarding School publication and access to our quarterly Founder’s Circle meetings and newsletter.