Earlier this year, with the generous support of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) presented a three-part webinar series titled Truth in History: Examining Indian Boarding Schools in California, which explore the ongoing legacy of the U.S. Indian Boarding School era with a focus on California schools.
If you were not able to join us for the live sessions, we invite you to watch the re-broadcast below or on our YouTube channel here. We also encourage you to subscribe to NABS’s YouTube page for first alerts when future content is posted, and to share these educational opportunities and video resources with all those in your networks.
The first steps toward healing are knowing and telling the truth. Please join us in this Truth and Healing Movement.
Truth in History Webinar Series 2020: Examining Indian Boarding Schools in California
Part 1 – Understanding and Addressing the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools through Examining Records
Leading in the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy, NABS was created to develop and implement a national strategy that increases public awareness and cultivates healing for the profound trauma experienced by individuals, families, communities, and Tribal Nations resulting from the U.S. adoption and implementation of the Boarding School Policy of 1869. This webinar session introduces the dynamic work that NABS has conducted, including the National Indian Boarding School Digital Archive (NIBSDA), a first of its kind digital repository equipped with the vision of Indigenous data sovereignty and increasing accessibility to the records of over 367 Indian boarding schools that NABS has identified. Part 1 was broadcast on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.
Truth in History Webinar Series 2020: Examining Indian Boarding Schools in California
Part 2 – Reviewing the Records of California Indian Boarding Schools
This session invites a panel of researchers and archivists to provide context and feedback on a variety of issues related to Indian Boarding School records, including where records might be, what types of records should be searched for, and what should be done with the records. NABS will introduce finding aides, inventories, and other resources that accompany known collections, as well as objects that have already been digitized. Information shared in this episode will contextualize how insights produced from this collaborative work of locating and bringing awareness to these resources has charted crucial pathways toward community-led healing. Part 2 was broadcast on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.
Truth in History Webinar Series 2020: Examining Indian Boarding Schools in California
Part 3 – Sharing and Contextualizing the Sherman Indian Museum
Offering valuable context for the experiences and histories of Sherman Institute, this session features the work of the Sherman Indian Museum led by curators, Lorene Sisquoc, Amanda Wixon, and Charlotte Dominguez. Though Sherman Institute was the first off-reservation boarding school in California under the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the museum exists today as a non-federally operated entity. In addition to sharing a brief historical analysis of Sherman Institute, the process and impact of the Sherman Indian Museum’s digitization project will be explored, as well as how the museum has navigated curation protocols and ethical considerations regarding the digitization of Indian boarding school materials. Part 3 was broadcast on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.
Photos courtesy of Sherman Indian Museum.
