- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
Your questions about Indian Boarding Schools, as answered by our team.
How did Indigeneous people find healing in their families and communities? Did they remain silent or did they tell their children,their relatives, their parents? Thanks so much for sharing for the rest of us.
This is the million dollar question, one that has a different answer and meaning for each survivor who experienced Indian boarding school. On the whole, our reporting has shown that many survivors never or rarely spoke of their boarding school experiences to their children or family members, especially when that experience was largely negative. It's also important to keep in mind that children who attended boarding schools were very often the second or third generation to do so.
The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative investigation demonstrates that “children of the first attendees of [Federal Indian] boarding schools went on to attend, as did their grandchildren, and great grandchildren leading to an intergenerational pattern of cultural and familial disruption under direct and indirect support by the United States and non-Federal entities.”
One survivor of a boarding school on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Duane Hollow Horn Bear, told us he found healing by finding his way back to his spirituality and his culture. Others have had different experiences.
The aim of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and Deb Haaland’s Road to Healing is to help define and facilitate what healing looks like in each community.
“Until we hear our communities speak their experiences, that will define our next steps,” Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition President Sandy Whitehawk responded to a question about what comes next in a Senate Hearing on Federal Indian Boarding Schools on June 22.
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
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.
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsNative News Weekly (August 4, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Native News Online Post-Election Survey Shows Trump-Harris Split, Reservation Divide
Six Native American Women Making a Difference in Indian Country
Google Celebrates Native American Heritage Month with a Doodle Using a Kayak
Support Independent Indigenous Journalism That Holds Power to Account
With the election now decided, Native News Online is recommitting to our core mission: rigorous oversight of federal Indian policy and its impact on tribal communities.
The previous Trump administration’s record on Indian Country — from the reduction of sacred sites to aggressive energy development on tribal lands — demands heightened vigilance as we enter this new term. Our Indigenous-centered newsroom will provide unflinching coverage of policies affecting tribal sovereignty, sacred site protection, MMIR issues, water rights, Indian health, and economic sovereignty.
This critical watchdog journalism requires resources. Your support, in any amount, helps maintain our independent, Native-serving news coverage. Every contribution helps keep our news free for all of our relatives. Please donate today to ensure Native News Online can thrive and deliver impactful, independent journalism.
