Report Calls For US Government To Own Up To Abusive Boarding School History

"The final investigative report on federal Indian boarding schools sets out recommendations for helping Native communities heal from the abusive policies"

"The U.S. Department of the Interior released its final investigative report Tuesday on the ugly history of federal Indian boarding schools, calling for a formal apology from the U.S. government and ongoing support to help Native people recover from the generational trauma that endures.

The second — and concluding — report from the department’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative also calls for return of lands that once housed the boarding schools, and construction of a national memorial to honor the children who were separated from their families and forced to attend schools that sought to wipe out their culture, identity and language.

The overarching theme of the boarding school initiative report and recommendations is that of healing for Indian Country, with a list of specific ways the federal government can tangibly assist tribal nations and peoples. It also reported that hundreds of additional children are now known to have died at the boarding schools and that additional burial sites had been discovered."

Mary Annette Pember and Stewart Huntington report for ICT July 30, 2024.

SEE ALSO:

"'Crying For Their Parents': More Than 900 Children Died At Indian Boarding Schools, U.S. Report Finds" (USA TODAY)

"Investigation Finds At Least 973 Native American Children Died In Us Government Boarding Schools" (AP)

"Secretary Haaland Announces Major Milestones for Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative" (Interior Dept. release)

"Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report Vol. II" (BIA)

"Interior Dept. Concludes 3-Year Probe Of Indian Boarding Schools" (NPR)

"Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died at Boarding Schools, Interior Dept. Finds" (New York Times)

Source: ICT, 07/31/2024