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- By Jenna Kunze
Your questions about Indian Boarding Schools, as answered by our team.
This year, a 14-year-old student of mine and I read a historical fiction, Between Earth and Sky, which focused on the Indian "schools" of the late 1800s. Of course, she had no idea they even existed, and I didn't know much about the abomination perpetrated on so many innocent Native American children. This is a subject that is not taught in public schools at all. Are there some children's books on the subject? The book we read is really for late teens or young adults. Is there something for younger kids?
Yes! Indigenous scholar and author Denise Lajimodiere (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) recommends picturebooks Firefly: A Boarding School Story by Elizabeth Peacock (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe) and Home to Medicine Mountain by Chiori Santiago with illustrations by Judith Lowry (Pit River Tribe). Both picture books tell the story of Indian boarding schools for a young audience.
Additionally, New York Times bestselling author Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) has a forthcoming young adult novel set for publication in May 2023 that tells the story of “an Indigenous Lara Croft” who, “instead of raiding tombs, she’s raiding museums to bring our ancestors home.” While this book focuses more on the colonial history of graverobbing, leading to institutions today possessing Native American human remains in their “collections”, the two topics are not unrelated.
Read previous Q&As on Indian Boarding Schools
Readers Ask Us 1, June 7th
Readers Ask Us 2, June 10
Readers Ask Us 3, July 21
Readers Ask Us 4, August 1
Readers Ask Us 5, August 5
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