NABS

Recovering Native American Writings in the Boarding School Press

This volume is the first of its kind to collect writings by students that were published in boarding school newspapers during the 19th and 20th centuries. The book details how these students created identities for themselves as writers and editors in spite of harsh boarding school conditions. In their writing, they challenged stereotypes about Native […]

Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences

This short, photography-based book features short articles by a variety of authors who write about the experiences of children in American Indian boarding schools. It was published by the Heard Museum, which hosts the longest running exhibit on U.S. Indian boarding schools. Authors in the volume include Frank H. Goodyear (Director of the Heard Museum), […]

Native American Boarding School Stories: A Special Issue of the Journal of American Indian Education

Featuring articles of major scholars in the field of American Indian Boarding School Studies, this special issue of the Journal of American Indian Education provides new perspectives on boarding school research and scholarship. It highlights new findings about historical Indian boarding schools, provides commentary on how boarding schools are being memorialized in museums and public memory, and […]

Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1827

This Department of the Interior Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs include an overview of Indian policy during this year, including qualitative information about a Great Crossings mission school in Kentucky. It lists the total number of children attending schools as 1,291 this year. Statement B in this document also includes a list of […]

Exploring American Indian Boarding School Experiences by Jolene Bowman

This presentation by Jolene Bowman explores the history of U.S. Indian boarding schools with a focus on her family history and boarding schools in Wisconsin. The presentation is about 40 minutes long and features a historical timeline, information about different aspects of the schools, moments for personal reflection, and interviews with boarding school survivors. You […]

Reports of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1826

This Department of the Interior Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs include an overview of Indian policy during this year and includes a report on the state of Indian Education, including information about a few Creek and Choctaw schools. The report also discusses the goal of using children as a link, or intermediary to […]

A Call to Action: Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing Boarding School Records

This is a recorded version of a presentation that Christine McCleave and Rose Miron, Staff from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, did at the 2018 meeting of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. The presentation outlines the history of U.S. Indian boarding schools, the importance of understanding and sharing the […]

The History of Fort Simcoe Boarding School

Fort Simcoe was established after the treaty of 1855 when 14 bands and tribes were merged into the Yakama Nation. Like other U.S. Indian boarding schools, it was designed to strip Native students of their culture. This article includes information about how the school was founded and the experiences of children. PDF found here. Original […]

Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for 1917

This Department of the Interior Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs includes an overview of Indian policy during this year and includes a report on Indian Education. This includes a description of subjects studied at boarding schools, uniforms, schools closed that year, and health conditions. Table 17, which can be found on p. 145 […]

Re-Riding History: From the Southern Plains to Matanzas Bay

This curatorial project retraces the history of seventy-two American Indian peoples from the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho, and Caddo Nations who were forcibly taken from their homes in Salt Fork, OK, and transported by train to St. Augustine, Florida by the United States war department. This action was completed under the direction of Lieutenant Richard […]