- Details
- By Kaili Berg
A 125 mile remembrance walk is underway to honor the Indigenous children who endured the federal Indian boarding school system, and especially those who passed through the former Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School.
The Genoa Indian School Memorial Walk, organized by the Native Youth Alliance, began with a sunrise ceremony on Monday, May 12, at the site of the Genoa school and will conclude on Friday, May 23, in Macy, Nebraska, on the Omaha Reservation.
The walk traces a southern path from the former school grounds in central Nebraska to the reservation, following a mapped route with stops in communities including Monroe, Schuyler, Fremont, Uehling, and Oakland.
Participants will walk roughly 10 to 15 miles each day, stopping at pre-identified sites such as Riverland Campground, Fremont Lakes, and Uehling Gas N Go for rest and overnight camping.
Organizers say the purpose of the walk is to honor the children who were taken from their families and placed in the Genoa Indian School as part of a federal assimilation policy that operated from the late 1800s through the 1930s.
At its height, Genoa housed more than 600 Native children from dozens of tribal nations across the Plains and Great Lakes regions. Many never returned home.
The Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, established in 1884, was part of a national network of more than 400 Indian boarding schools designed to forcibly assimilate Native youth into white society.
Students were often stripped of their language, culture, and identity. Abuse, neglect, and disease were widespread, and hundreds of children are known to have died while enrolled.
For many walkers, the journey is both personal and communal. Some are descendants of children who attended Genoa. Others come from neighboring tribes who were similarly impacted by the boarding school era.
Organizers have also extended invitations to tribal leaders, spiritual advisors, and elders to offer prayers and teachings along the way.
The walk is open to the public, and participants are welcome to join for a day, a few miles, or the full journey. Updates are being posted on the Omaha Tribe’s official website and social media channels.
For more information, including a full map of the route and contact details, visit this website.
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