On Tuesday, July 30th, 2024, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the release of Volume II of the Federal Boarding School Investigative Report. This comprehensive report advances the critical work of examining the historical and current day impacts of federal Indian boarding school policies in the United States.
Building on the findings of the first volume, Volume II delves deeper into the personal narratives, statistical data, and institutional policies that have shaped the experiences of thousands of Native American students who were placed in Federal Indian boarding schools. The report provides new insights and expands our understanding of the far-reaching consequences of these policies.
Key Findings of Volume II:
- Updating the official list of Federal Indian boarding schools to include 417 institutions across 37 states or then-territories;
- Providing detailed profiles of each Federal Indian boarding school;
- Identifying 1,025 other institutions that did not satisfy the four criteria used for this investigation, but were nevertheless used to advance similar assimilation and education policy goals;
- Confirming that at least 973 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children died while attending Federal Indian boarding schools;
- Confirming that there are at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 different school sites;
- Listing 127 different Treaties between the United States and Indian Tribes that implicate the Federal Indian boarding school system; and,
- Reporting that the Department estimates that the U.S. Government made appropriations available of more than $23.3 billion in FY23 inflation-adjusted dollars between 1871 and 1969 for the Federal Indian boarding school system as well as other similar institutions and associated assimilation policies.
Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland (Pueblo of Laguna), emphasized the importance of this ongoing investigation: “The federal government – facilitated by the Department I lead – took deliberate and strategic actions through federal Indian boarding school policies to isolate children from their families, deny them their identities, and steal from them the languages, cultures and connections that are foundational to Native people. These policies caused enduring trauma for Indigenous communities that the Biden-Harris administration is working tirelessly to repair. I am immensely proud of the hundreds of Interior employees – many of them Indigenous – who gave of their time and themselves to ensure that this investigation was thoroughly completed to provide an accurate and honest picture. The Road to Healing does not end with this report – it is just beginning.”
“For the first time in the history of the United States, the federal government is accounting for its role in operating historical Indian boarding schools that forcibly confined and attempted to assimilate Indigenous children. This report further proves what Indigenous peoples across the country have known for generations – that federal policies were set out to break us, obtain our territories, and destroy our cultures and our lifeways,” said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Ojibwe). “It is undeniable that those policies failed, and now, we must bring every resource to bear to strengthen what they could not destroy. It is critical that this work endures, and that federal, state and Tribal governments build on the important work accomplished as part of the Initiative.”
“This report represents a significant advancement and will serve as a valuable resource for a commission to be established upon the passage of the U.S. Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S.1723/H.R. 7227),” said National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition CEO, Deborah Parker (Tulalip Tribes). “As we continue to confront this dark chapter, we must continue to listen to and uplift the stories of survivors, recognize the enduring impact on generations, and commit to meaningful healing for survivors and their descendants.”
“This report necessarily builds upon the work of many of our relatives who for generations have contributed to the pursuit of truth and healing,” said National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition Deputy CEO, Dr. Samuel Torres (Mexica/Nahua). “We honor all those who have brought us to this moment, and recognize that this represents the beginning of much more work that still needs to be done.”
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition Board President, Ruth Anna Buffalo (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) stated, “This second volume of the report is a critical step in our journey towards healing. It includes vital policy recommendations for Congress and the Executive Branch to support the redress and recovery of Tribal Nations affected by these historic injustices.”
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) continues to work collaboratively with the Interior on their Federal Indian boarding school initiative, and remains committed to maintaining this collaboration, as the work is urgent and must progress.
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For more information and to access the full report, please click here.
