To all of our readers and friends,
This week, witnesses appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to speak about the genocidal history of federal Indian boarding school policies as well as the generational harm of those policies on Native families and communities.
A few days before the Senate hearing, news broke that the U.S. Army had exhumed the remains of a Native American student at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School — only to discover that the body was that of a different person. Tribal leaders told Native News that losing the remains of the Native American teen was not an isolated incident, and that it foretells a grim reality for future Indian boarding-school repatriations across the country.
If you’re a regular reader of Native News Online, you’re likely familiar with the 150-year history of Indian Boarding Schools and their impact on Indian Country. We have written extensively on this issue, reporting more than 100 stories as part of our effort to shine a bright light on this dark era of forced assimilation of Native American children.
During the Senate hearings, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland — a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo and herself a product of the boarding school policies — advocated for a Truth and Healing Commission and talked about her planned “road to healing” tour to speak with boarding school survivors and assess tribal needs. She told the Senate committee that her first stop will be in Oklahoma.
We plan to be there and at other stops on the road to healing. And we will continue to cover this important story throughout 2022 and 2023. That’s why today, I’m asking you to support our newsroom with a one-time or recurring donation to fund our reporting, including the escalating cost of travel. I ask that you please join us in this effort with a one-time donation or a recurring donation of $5 or $10 per month.
Yes, I’ll Support Native News Coverage of Indian Boarding Schools
Megwetch, 
Levi Rickert
Editor & Publisher
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