Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: One was killed, another injured in a raid by an Israeli drone on the city of Khiam in South Lebanon
London views possibility of setting fire to tanker in port of friendly country to Russia to damage port infrastructure, initiate an international probe: Moscow
One of London's scenarios involves setting up accident with 'undesirable' tanker in one of the bottlenecks of maritime communications: Russian foreign intelligence agency
London plans to organize major sabotage with tankers to declare transportation of Russian oil to international shipping: Russian foreign intelligence agency
UK intelligence agencies plan to use NATO allies to launch massive raid on 'Shadow Fleet': Russian foreign intelligence agency
Palestinian Ministry of Health: Two were martyred in Israeli shelling that targeted a besieged house in the town of Qabatiya in Jenin
At least 68 dead in migrant shipwreck off Yemen: IOM
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.

973 Native American children died in US boarding schools: Study

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 31 Jul 2024 11:35
  • 2 Shares
5 Min Read

From being assigned English names to enduring beatings and food deprivation, a recent investigation reveals the harsh treatment Native American children faced in the boarding school system that aimed to assimilate them into white society.

Listen
  • x
  • A makeshift memorial to the dozens of Indigenous children who died while attending boarding school is pictured under a tree at a public park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 1, 2021. (AP)
    A makeshift memorial to the dozens of Indigenous children who died while attending boarding school is pictured under a tree at a public park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 1, 2021. (AP)

At least 973 Native American children died under the US government's abusive boarding school system, an investigation commissioned by US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland revealed on Tuesday by officials who urged the government to issue a formal apology for the schools.

The probe found marked and unmarked graves at 65 of the over 400 US Native American boarding schools where children of the minority group were forcibly assimilated into white society. Although the investigation did not disclose descriptions of each child's death, officials said the causes of death included sickness and abuse that lasted for 150 years, ending in 1969. In addition, children may have also passed away at home after contracting illnesses at the boarding school.

"The federal government took deliberate and strategic action through boarding school policies to isolate children from their families, deny them their identities, and steal from them the languages, cultures and connections that are foundational to Native people," Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary and Laguna Pueblo tribe member, told reporters on Tuesday, adding the system was established "to eradicate the, quote, ‘Indian problem,’ to either assimilate or destroy native peoples altogether."

The boarding school system was established by the federal government through the implementation of laws and policies in 1819 to support these institutions, enabling their century-long operation with some still active in the 1960s. According to a 2022 report, over 500 children reportedly died in the government-run schools.

Listening sessions reveal accounts of abuse

The investigation was conducted through a series of listening sessions compiled over the last two years, revealing firsthand accounts from dozens of former students who attended schools all over the country such as Oklahoma, South Dakota, Michigan, and other states, who shared the harsh abuse and treatment they faced under the assimilation boarding school system.

Related News

UK, NATO plotting sabotage of Russian oil tankers, says SVR

Clashes erupt in Deir Hafer between SDF, Syrian army factions

The listening sessions shed light on the various methods schools practiced to assimilate the children while erasing their Native American identities, such as enduring punishment if they spoke their native language and forcibly having their hair cut. 

The interviewed individuals described the harsh abuse they were subjected to, suffering through beatings, food deprivation, and solitary confinement.  In addition, Native American children were given English names as part of the boarding school system's attempt to assimilate them, as well as forcing them to perform military drills and manual labor such as farming, brick-making, and railroad work, officials revealed. These factors essentially limited the job prospects of the former students since they only received basic vocational skills during their time at the institutions. 

Donovan Archambault, the former chairman of the Fort Belknap Indian reservation in Montana, recounted the mistreatment and cultural erasure he experienced at boarding schools since the age of 11 which eventually led him to develop a drinking problem before he achieved sobriety over two decades ago. The 85-year-old man added that he never shared his school days with his children until he wrote a book a few years ago detailing his experience.

"An apology is needed. They should apologize," Archambault told the Associated Press on a phone call held on Tuesday. "But there also needs to be a broader education about what happened to us. To me, it’s part of a forgotten history."

Haaland expressed that she was "sorry beyond words," urging the government should issue a formal apology. Interior Department officials followed her lead by calling on the government to invest in programs to heal Native American communities from their endured trauma caused by the boarding school system, including funding education, violence prevention, and the revival of their languages.

$23.3 billion funding of assimilation

Around 60,000 Native American schoolchildren were attending government or religious-run boarding schools by 1926, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition revealed.

Officials speculated that $23.3 billion in inflation-adjusted federal funds were allocated to schools,  institutions, and programs enforcing assimilation practices. Many of these institutions were run by religious and private organizations that received federal money as part of the effort to "civilize" Indigenous students, according to a new report.

In June, US Catholic bishops apologized for the church's contribution to the children's trauma, a similar step Pope Francis took in 2022 when he apologized for the Catholic church's cooperation with Canadian boarding schools that destroyed cultures and families, as well as marginalized generations of Indigenous peoples. 

Officials and politicians, including Democrat Senator Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and her Republican counterpart, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have sponsored the establishment of the Truth and Healing Commission before Congress in an effort to document and acknowledge boarding school-related injustices.

  • United States
  • indigenous people
  • Native American
  • Native Americans
  • Native American boarding schools
  • native

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS