https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/us-indian-boarding-schools-gravesThe US will search old federal boarding schools for the unmarked graves of Native American children, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland said Tuesday, a project that will officially acknowledge the loss of life that has haunted tribal communities for more than 100 years.
The announcement came at the National Congress of American Indians 2021 Mid Year Conference, where Haaland said the Department of Interior will prepare a detailed report using historical government records to identify possible burial sites. Between 1869 and the 1960s, more than 350 federal boarding schools forced thousands of Native American children from their parents to "culturally assimilate" them, and schools continued to operate in the decades after the government handed off control. Some children never returned home.
The project will include identifying records within the department documenting US boarding schools between 1819 to 1969, according to the memo. The department will also reach out to tribal nations, as well as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian organizations, to help process and protect any burial sites that are identified.
The review will include all records of enrollment, history, maps, and statistics of the schools, but the department noted that efforts should pay particular attention to any record that could point to cemeteries or any other burial site.
A detailed report is expected to be completed by April 2, 2022.
