Department of the Interior Releases Investigative Report, Outlines Next Steps in Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative

Summary

The U.S. Department of the Interior has released Volume 1 of the investigative report for the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, which will address the intergenerational trauma caused by the government's historical policies of family separation, cultural eradication, and forced relocation of Indigenous peoples. The report includes profiles and maps of 408 federal schools, and identified marked or unmarked burial sites at approximately 53 different schools. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced the launch of "The Road to Healing," a year-long tour to allow American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system the opportunity to share their stories. A second volume of the report is in the works, aided by a $7 million investment, and will provide a list of marked and unmarked burial sites and an estimation of the total amount of federal funding used to support the school system.

Q&As

AI Comments

👍 This report is a significant step forward by the federal government to honestly address and remediate the legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies.

👎 Despite assertions to the contrary, the investigation found that the school system largely focused on manual labor and vocational skills that left American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian graduates with employment options often irrelevant to the industrial U.S. economy, further disrupting Tribal economies.

AI Discussion

Me: The Department of the Interior released an investigative report about the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, which was a comprehensive effort to address the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies. The report includes profiles and maps of the 408 federal schools across 37 states or territories, including 21 schools in Alaska and 7 schools in Hawaii. The investigation also identified marked and unmarked burial sites at approximately 53 different schools across the school system.

Friend: Wow. That's a lot of information. So, what are the implications of this article?

Me: Well, this report is a significant step by the federal government to comprehensively address the facts and consequences of its federal Indian boarding school policies. It highlights some of the conditions children endured at these schools and raises important questions about the short- and long-term consequences of the federal Indian boarding school system on American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. As part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, the Department of the Interior is launching the "Road to Healing" tour to allow American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system to share their stories, help connect communities with trauma-informed support, and facilitate collection of a permanent oral history. The report also identifies next steps that will be taken in a second volume, aided by a new $7 million investment from Congress through fiscal year 2022.

Action items

• Research the history of federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on Indigenous communities.
• Reach out to local Indigenous communities to learn more about their experiences with federal Indian boarding schools.
• Participate in the “Road to Healing” tour to support survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system and help collect oral histories.

Technical terms

Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior is a federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources.

Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative

A comprehensive effort by the U.S. Department of the Interior to address the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding school policies.

Intergenerational Trauma

The transmission of physical and psychological effects of trauma from one generation to the next.

Burial Sites

A place where a dead body is buried.

Cultural Assimilation

The process by which a minority group or culture comes to resemble those of a dominant group.

Territorial Dispossession

The loss of land or territory by a people or nation.

Forced Removal

The act of forcibly removing people from their homes or land.

Relocation

The act of moving people from one place to another.

Revitalization

The process of restoring something to its former condition or vitality.

Trauma-Informed Support

A framework for understanding and responding to the effects of trauma.

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