The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Working for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation for Boarding School Survivors and Descendants
Working for Truth, Justice, and Healing for Boarding School Survivors and Descendants.
We stand with Secretary Deb Haaland in what has been an historic year for truth, justice, and healing from boarding schools. In this moment, we honor the generations of relatives who have fought and persisted in advocating for accountability.
We have a right to know the truth of what happened in Indian boarding schools in the United States.
The truth about the US Indian boarding school policy has largely been written out of the history books, and we still don’t know how many students attended. Many have estimated that there were nearly 500 government-funded Indian boarding and day schools across the US in the 19th and 20th centuries, and NABS has identified 357 boarding schools alone. In boarding schools, Indian children were forcibly abducted by government agents, sent to schools hundreds of miles away, and beaten, starved, or otherwise abused when they spoke their native languages.
Truth. Healing. Justice. Reconciliation. These words carry different meaning for Americans today, depending on what side of history you hail from. If you’re Native American, you know that Justice in Indian Country cannot be fully realized without a major shift in our national narrative. Namely, that the U.S. has never accepted responsibility for its Boarding School experiment—the forced removal of our children, the prohibition of our language and culture, and the violation of our human, civil, and indigenous rights.
© National Native American
Boarding School Healing Coalition
2525 E. Franklin Ave., Ste. 120
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: 612.354.7700