The operation of federal Indian boarding schools in this country marked a troubling chapter in our history. We have witnessed, in recent years, a renewed effort to have transparent and difficult discussions about this country’s history of operating Native American boarding schools, and much of this effort is a result of Secretary Haaland’s ongoing investigation into the government’s past oversight of these federally operated facilities.
In 2022, the Interior released Volume 1 of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative’s investigative report, the first-ever comprehensive report of its kind by the U.S. government. This week, the newest and final report, Volume 2, was released. The newest findings are described throughout hundreds of pages, filled with revealing data and harrowing stories that highlight the generational impact boarding schools continue to have on Indigenous families.
The newest research by the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative has identified 973 deceased students at federal Indian Boarding Schools across the United States, including 18 who identified as Cherokee. We know thousands and thousands of other Native children during those dark decades were taken from their families and faced the cruelties of forced assimilation, child labor and many other traumas at boarding schools. We now know Oklahoma had more Indian boarding schools operated by the federal government than any other state, with 87.
This report is long overdue, but it is also appreciated. We hope that the next steps beyond this federal investigation help account for the injustices that have occurred and that we can begin to heal some of the generational traumas Native people still struggle with as a result of past anti-Indian policies and practices.
View the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Report
Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Principal Chief
