Pre-1900 25 off reservation boarding schools were established that housed 10,000 students. By the end of the Boarding School Era, over 100,000 children had attended residential school. The mantra of these schools was to “kill the Indian to save the man.” Children were horribly abused at these institutions and the trauma is something many survivors continue to carry with them. In Native communities this trauma is often not discussed and it manifests as suicide, mental health issues, and dysfunctional families.
Source: Ruth Hopkins. “Sexual Trauma: One Legacy of the Boarding School Era-Ruth Hopkins. Last Real Indians. 2013. https://lastrealindians.com/sexual-trauma-one-legacy-of-the-boarding-school-era-ruth-hopkins/