American Indian boarding schools were established beginning in the 1870s for the purposes of educating Indigenous children in the United States. Initially, the schools were operated by various Christian churches and organizations and were intended to both educate and convert the children to Christianity. Within a short time, however, the US government began opening schools aimed at removing children from their Native culture and teaching them to speak English, practice Christianity instead of their traditional religious practices, and change other aspects of their lives to make them more White.
In the middle of the twentieth century, the schools continued operating to serve Indigenous children without other education options, though most eliminated the militant attempts to convert and Americanize students. The vast majority of the schools were closed by the early part of the twenty-first century. During the 2020s, Indigenous leaders and advocates increased calls for the US government to research and address the lasting impacts of boarding schools on American Indian communities. A federal report issued in May 2022 revealed that more than four hundred American Indian boarding schools had been supported by the US government during the late 1800s and early 1900s and that hundreds of deaths of students had occurred there.
In 1879, Richard H. Pratt (1840–1924), a former member of the US Cavalry and a Civil War veteran, opened the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Pratt was famous for the saying, "Kill the Indian and save the man." He believed that it was best for all concerned if Indigenous people learned to think and act like White people. He reasoned that having the school far away from the reservations would minimize the problem of runaways and all but eliminate any exposure to the children's Native culture, thus speeding the process of replacing their culture. Pratt's school became the first of many throughout the United States. By 1885, more than one hundred schools were opened around the United States. Many, including the Carlisle School, were located in abandoned military facilities.
Although the schools were government-sponsored, they were generally poorly supported. Many former students would later report insufficient food, clothing, and other necessities. Sickness was rampant because of lack of hygiene and medical care and the close quarters in which they lived. The children were often required to work to help pay for the school's operation. When they finally completed their studies, they were often indentured to local residents as servants or farm hands.
Discipline was strict and often harsh. Students would later recount being hit with boards or leather belts for breaking any rules. Students who were caught speaking in their Native languages would often be forced to eat lye soap that would burn their mouths. Because many of the schools were former military bases, they often had prison cells where the children would be locked for infractions such as running away. Many instances of sexual abuse of both boys and girls by school staff were later reported.
The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative released its first report in May 2022. At that point, it had identified more than five hundred student deaths at boarding schools across the US, though officials anticipated that the number would continue to climb. The report also found that 408 schools were supported by the US government between 1819 and 1969. Haaland announced that Interior Department officials would embark on a yearlong “Road to Healing” tour to gather testimonies from former boarding school students in order to create a permanent oral history of the schools. After the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative’s first report, tribal leaders and Indigenous activists from around the country called for a federal truth and healing commission to fully investigate boarding school abuses and to recommend next steps for healing. In May 2022, representatives Sharice Davids, a Ho-Chunk tribal member, and Tom Cole of the Chickasaw tribe sponsored legislation to create a truth and healing commission, with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren leading the process in the Senate. In June 2023, the bill passed the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee and headed to the Senate floor.
