Education
Report Details Deaths of Almost 1,000 Native Children at Federal Boarding Schools: ‘They Took Our Children’
A recent report from the U.S. Department of the Interior has brought to light the grim legacy of federal Indian boarding schools, revealing the deep scars left on Native American communities.
The report, which concluded a three-year investigation, uncovered that at least 973 children died while under the care of these institutions, with many more expected to have suffered similar fates. These schools were established to forcibly assimilate Native American children — often through violent tactics.
Bradford Kasberg, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, expressed mixed emotions about the findings.
“I was very happy to see that a report was generated about this. This is something that’s no secret in Indian country,” Kasberg said. “The numbers are far greater, and it’s difficult to handle but I’m happy these conversations are happening.”
Kasberg, who grew up in Ohio and later connected with his tribal heritage through language and culture courses at Miami University, emphasized the importance of cultural preservation. He says that while the report’s revelations are not new to indigenous communities, the public acknowledgment marks a significant step forward.
The Chicago local stays connected with his heritage by staying in touch with family members and hosting events, including Dungeons and Dragons sessions that serve as a space for cultural learning and connection.
“Culture is the big things and it’s the little things,” said Kasberg. “It’s not just holidays and celebrations, it’s the way you greet your relatives, and knowing who and what your relatives are. There’s small ways that I do that like going outside and being with our land and our water”
Joseph Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, has a personal connection to the report. His mother was one of the many children taken from their families and sent to a boarding school.
“When the Department of Education came around to the reservation, they just loaded everybody up,” Rupnick said. “At that time, she [his mom] was 3 years old. My grandparents were saying she wasn’t old enough to go to school yet and they [the government] said, ‘No, she’s ready to go.’ And then she ended up going to Marty, South Dakota… Consequently, what happened was that she never talked Indian to us and never taught us Indian.”
The Prairie Band Potawatomi, whose ancestral land is in Illinois but who now reside in Kansas due to forced removal, recently became the first federally recognized tribe in Illinois.
Rupnick, however, says their struggles are ongoing, including the fight for language revitalization and land stewardship.
Ronnie Preston, a citizen of the San Carlos Apache Nation and a program facilitator and cultural ambassador at the American Indian Center in Chicago, he says there’s a great challenge in explaining such painful histories to younger generations.
One way he explains cultural teachings to young people is by using an example of a circle. “Our culture is like a hoop,” Preston said. “They took our children from us and cut off their hair, and abused them for speaking their language. As our culture is still here today, you see that they did not succeed.”
The hoop illustrates that their cultural heritage has no end, much like a circle.
