Interior Dept. Announces Investigation Into Traumas Of Indian Boarding Schools

The federal government is beginning an investigation into the impact and victims of Indian Boarding Schools that date back to the mid-19th century. Dozens of those schools were in Oklahoma and in Green Country. 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the schools were known to traumatize children as part of efforts to integrate them into American society. 

"We must uncover the truth about the loss of human life and the lasting consequences of the schools," said Haaland. 

She said this investigation will identify past boarding school facilities, locate possible burial sites, and document the identities and tribal affiliations of children who were taken there.

"The federal policies that attempted to wipe out native identity, language, and culture continue to manifest and the pain our communities face," Haaland said. 

This comes after the bodies of 215 children were found in a mass grave at the site of an indigenous school in Canada. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/215-bodies-found-canada-indigenous-school/

The National Archives reveal there were at least 43 Oklahoma Indian boarding schools that were run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some of those were here in Green Country. 

In the United States, the boarding schools were overseen by the federal government and took native children from their families to integrate them into society.

Haaland said some schools wouldn’t allow students to speak their native language and many endured physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse.  

"I come from ancestors who remember the horrors of Indian boarding schools and assimilation policies carried out by the same department that I now lead," Haaland said. "I know this process will be long and difficult - I know this process will be painful. It won’t undo the heartbreaking loss that so many of us feel. But, only by knowledge in the past can we work towards a feature that we were all proud embrace."

Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. sent News on 6 a statement about the new initiative: 

“Indian boarding schools have a troubling history in this country. They were part of an effort by the federal government in the 1930s and 40s to civilize Native Americans and in the course of that, we saw an erosion of our culture and language, and in some cases, it was literally beaten out of the children who were forced to attend. It is a history that needs to be known and remembered, and I’m encouraged that Secretary Haaland announced today that the DOI will take a critical look and comprehensive review of these schools and immeasurable detriment to tribal citizens.”