The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS), the First Nations Repatriation Institute, and the University of Minnesota announced the launch of a new study, Child Removal in Native Communities: An Anonymous Survey and put out a call for participants.
“Between 1879 and the 1960s, tens of thousands of American Indian and Alaskan Native children were forced to attend boarding school against their parents’ and tribes’ wishes. The goal of these schools was to eliminate the “Indian problem” that the United States had to its westward expansion by removing all traces of tribal existence — language, culture, spiritual traditions, communal and family ties, etc. and replacing them with European Christian ideals of civilization, religion, and culture. Today, Native communities continue to live with the impacts of the cultural genocide that was carried out in these schools. Impacts such as high rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and sexual violence are directly linked to the historical trauma caused by colonization and forced assimilation.”
For additional information including contacts to request a paper copy of the survey or the research report when the study is completed click here.