US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American US cabinet secretary, set in motion an investigation into the history of federal boarding schools that were used to strip away native cultures from indigenous children.
The state of Colorado followed up this initiative by funding a one-year research project into the boarding schools in their state. The project was headed by State Archaeologist Holly Norton. It covered the years 1880-1920, and consisted primarily of documents research.
The cutoff date of 1920 was chosen to preserve the privacy of victims of the schools beyond that date.
Among the findings were allegations of sexual abuse, starvation, diseases, and economic exploitation. Jerilyn DeCoteau, attorney and co-founder of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, commended the research work and the sensitivity. She talked about the founding of the healing coalition and their plans.
They have received a grant to begin collecting oral histories. She says each person and community must decide whether to pursue such a project. She cites language revitalization as the most important healing tool.
- U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland;
- Colorado’s state archaeologist Holly Norton;
- Jerilyn DeCoteau, attorney and co-founder of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
WINGS: Women’s International News Gathering Service has been covering the global women’s movement and related issues for community radio since 1986.nterviews, production and narration by Shannon Young. Additional audio from the US Department of the Interior. Music recorded live with permission by Shannon Young. WINGS series producer, Frieda Werden.
