A Navajo woman named Eulynda Toledo-Benalli shares her family’s history with the boarding school system in the U.S. Her father was kidnapped and sent to school in Colorado, while generations later, Toledo-Benalli was sent to school in Rehoboth, NM with her siblings. They suffered abuse at the hands of the schools, and their parents didn’t […]
When Chilocco first opened, 100 students attended the school, culminating in 18,000 students from 126 tribes over nearly 100 years. The text includes the memories of students, along with pictures from the school. Book Available for Purchase Here Source:Brumley, Kim. Chilocco: Memories of a Native American Boarding School. Fairfax, OK: Guardian Publishing House, 2010
What is now Sherman Indian High School began as the Perris Indian School in 1892. Like other Indian boarding schools, Sherman sought to forcefully assimilate Native American students at all cost. Students had mixed experiences. Some suffered horrific abuse while others speak positively of their time at the school. Sherman today is the opposite of […]
The film ‘Healing Winds’ is based on the personal history of the filmmaker. It focuses on a psychiatrist who travels to the Arctic region of Nunavik and his interactions with a patient named Reepah who is recovering from the trauma experienced in residential school. Due to the intense and painful subject matter, the film took […]
Unlike schools of the past, Native American boarding schools still in existence have become places where students have the opportunity to thrive academically. Tim O’Neal is one of those students. Previously he lived in Wyoming where he was failing school and eventually transferred to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. He excelled at Chemawa, […]
In this podcast Connie Walker gives an extensive overview of the history of residential schools in Canada. Several survivors told of their horrific experiences and how this trauma continues to affect their lives. Connie is also the daughter of a survivor and her grandparents went to residential school as well. In university she interviewed her […]
5 stories are told about children who died after they left residential school in Canada. In each case, the students left in the winter, often battling the elements in an attempt to survive. Sometimes a student left alone, or in a small group. Exposure was often the cause of death, and the schools did not […]
When we think of residential schools, many will picture images of elderly survivors struggling to cope with their experiences. But the legacy of the schools, lives on in generations of Indigenous Canadians. A third generation descendent of a survivor, and a residential school survivor discuss how the residential school system has impacted them. Both support […]
Several Aboriginal musicians from Canada explain how residential school and their various life experiences inspired them to create music based on their heritage and the experiences of Indigenous people. Historically, the issues Indigenous musicians sing about remain unknown to the dominant population due to the lack of awareness of this type of music. Now more […]
At a Canadian residential school, Willie Blackwater stood up to his abuser and was able to stop him and other students from facing further abuse and was able to live with a family during the school year. This experience showed him it was possible to fight back against the system trying to oppress him and […]
A Canadian residential school survivor, Michael Cheena, recalls how his family did not have a choice to send him to residential school or not. His parents would have been sent to jail if he did not attend. Life at school was strict, and students were harshly disciplined. Cheena recalls the policy of not being allowed […]
Two survivors of the Mohawk Indian Residential School share their different experiences. The first survivor, Audrey Hill, attended the school for one year. Coming from an environment where her parents showed affection, she knew there was something wrong at Mohawk. She heard stories of abuse, was slapped, and had her hair pulled while attending school. […]
