While Congress continues to consider federal legislation for Truth and Healing from the trauma of Indian boarding schools, the Department of the Interior, led by Secretary Deb Haaland, has continued its own investigation. The Department just released the second of two investigative reports on the federal government’s role in Indian boarding schools. This is an important step towards learning the truth about these institutions which stole kids from their families and abused them in a cruel attempt to extinguish Native culture. But it isn’t enough.
From the early 1800s through the 1960s, Christian churches, including Quaker bodies, collaborated with the government to run more than 400 boarding schools for Native American children. The conditions at these institutions were horrific.
The first volume of the Department’s report was released in May 2022 with details of over 400 schools, including a map of institutions and federal support for them. Notably, it did not include a count of children who attended the schools, or children who were injured or died during their time at the institutions.
The new volume of the report goes much farther. It is able to name least 18,600 children who attended schools funded by the federal government, and that at least 973 of those children died at school. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), the leading Native group researching the subject, has found that the true number of students is over 60,000.
The work of truth isn’t done, and the work of healing is still ongoing.
While this report is crucial to understanding the federal government’s role in Indian Boarding Schools, we are still advocating for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 1723; H.R. 7227). The work of truth isn’t done, and the work of healing is still ongoing.
First, the Department of the Interior was not empowered with subpoena authority as the agency investigated Indian Boarding Schools. While approximately half of Indian Boarding Schools were run by the government, many were run by religious organizations. The government can’t access their personnel, student, and administrative records without voluntary cooperation or the legal compulsion of a subpoena. Without this legal authority, we cannot be certain that we know the entire truth.
Second, the scope of the DOI’s investigation only allowed it to investigate schools that received federal funding. Many boarding schools were not operated with federal support, meaning they are not included in the report even though they abused thousands.
This includes Quaker schools. The Report identifies approximately 25 boarding schools run by Quakers. Friends across the country involved in Truth and Healing work believe there were at least 30. The kids who went to those schools matter too.
Third, the DOI was only investigating Indian Boarding Schools during the prescribed “federal Indian Boarding School” timeline, which ended in 1969. A Congressional Commission would have the power to investigate how the Indian Boarding School system continued in other forms after the formal dissolution of the boarding school structure.
Even though we appreciate the work done by the Department of Interior, we still need a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools. We’re proud to join our partners at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and Indigenous communities to call for this step toward justice.
