Boarding school report spurs calls for truth and healing

May 15—TRAVERSE CITY — Native American children faced atrocities committed at boarding schools designed and run by the federal government for more than a century in the attempt to eradicate Native Peoples.

After decades of outcry by survivors, their families, and Native American communities, a first-of-its-kind federal study of the boarding schools was released by the U.S Department of Interior this week.

Anishinaabek community members of Michigan hope this will be the first step of many in addressing the state and country's dark legacy.

"It's way past time to expose the truth and hold the United States and the churches responsible for these atrocities," said Dr. Martin Reinhardt.

Reinhardt is a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a tenured professor of Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University.

His mother, family, and community members were stripped from their families and placed into boarding schools, where "they each suffered in their own way at the hands of people who were entrusted with their care," he said.

Though he was glad to see the federal government finally take serious steps into addressing the wrongs done to Native American children, Reinhardt stated that there were a lot of mixed feelings after he reviewed the report.

"My heart hurts for all of the boarding school attendees," he said.

He hopes that a deeper investigation will lead to justice for all those impacted by the assimilation and abuse at the boarding schools, and church-operated facilities.

The 106-page report investigated 408 boarding schools across 37 states or territories, including five in the state of Michigan between the years 1819 and 1969.

The Interior Department acknowledged the number of schools identified could change as more data is gathered, "and expects the number of recorded deaths could climb to the thousands or even tens of thousands."

The history of Indian boarding schools era is not new to Indian Country, said Lacey Kinnart, citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and descendant of boarding school survivors.

She said that what is in the report, "is not shocking to a lot of our people, every Indigenous person is affected by Indian Boarding Schools."

Kinnart applauds Secretary Deb Haaland for creating the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and ordering an investigation report — a report she said is long past due.

The history of boarding schools are not taught in schools or written in textbooks- The release of this report is the first step in changing that narrative, said Kinnart.

In addition to the Federal Indian Boarding Schools, the DOI also identified more than 1,000 additional federal and non-federal institutions that didn't fall under its definition of "Federal Indian boarding school," such as Indian day schools, sanitariums, asylums, orphanages, and stand-alone dormitories that worked similarly in assimilating Native children.

During a live press conference Wednesday, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said the report is only a first step to acknowledge the experiences of federal boarding school children.

Newland is a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian community and spoke that he grew up in a family and community that continues to be impacted by the boarding schools.

He commented that a further investigation is required to determine the legacy impacts of the boarding school era on Native American communities today.

A recommended second report asked Newland to specifically focus on investigative findings of locations of marked or unmarked burial sites associated with the federal Indian boarding school system; names, ages, and tribal affiliations of children interred at such locations; and an estimation of federal dollars spent supporting the federal Indian boarding school system and Native land held in trust by the United States used to support the federal Indian boarding school system.

While information still needs to be uncovered in the report, attention to Michigan's legacy of boarding schools is the first step in addressing reconciliation now the truths are out in the public, said Waganakising Odawa, Meredith Kennedy.

"I am grateful for our survivors today," she said, and hopes they feel their voices are seen and are being uplifted.

Kennedy stated that she hopes survivors' stories will no longer be shamed, or dismissed. The U.S government played a major role in the genocide of Indigenous Peoples "in our own backyard," she said.

Kennedy, as previously reported, attended New L'Arbre Croche Mission School, or Holy Childhood in Harbor Springs into the '80s.

Worries about the impact of the resurfaced traumas on her community's mental and spiritual health have been on her mind since the anticipated release.

Community-led advocacy group, Zagaswe'iwe: Council to Address Holy Childhood will be creating community events across the state to help address those impacted that are in different areas, "to have the opportunity to meet others and heal as a community," stated Kennedy

Congress provided the Interior Department with $7 million for its work on the next phase of the report, which will focus on burial sites, and identifying Native children and their ages.

Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, also announced a year-long tour would seek to gather stories of boarding school survivors for an oral history collection.

In addition to this report, work done beyond the scope of DOI is being conducted by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS).

Kinnart said that is why bill H.R. 5444 and S.2907 — Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies is necessary.

"The bill is crucial to this Truth and Healing movement which needs to be passed and made into law."

An enormous amount of trauma, historical trauma, and intergenerational trauma has to be healed and the time is now, she said.