Boys pray before bedtime with Father Keyes, St. Mary's Mission School, Omak. (© Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society, Spokane, WA).
Petitioners: Boarding School Healing Project and over 35 others
Country: United States of America
Topics: Rights of Children, Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Update:
“There is no American history without Native American history,” asserted Eric Bruce Wilson of the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Yet, Dr. Lajimodiere said that the vast majority of the American public knows nothing about the horrifying history of sending Native American children to boarding schools.
In a thematic hearing on October 29, 2010, Andrea Smith and Dr. Denise Lajimodiere, representatives from the Boarding School Healing Project, described the collective trauma suffered by Native American children in boarding schools beginning in the 1870s and continuing into the mid-twentieth century and the on-going intergenerational harm resulting from this experience. Most boarding schools were run by churches, the petitioners explained, but they were supervised and funded by the government as part of a policy whose goal was described as “kill the Indian by saving the man.”
Smith explained that the U.S. government forced children into boarding schools in one of two ways: by forcefully abducting native children from their parents or threatening their parents with withholding food rations. Horrific abuse was widespread at the boarding schools: children experienced physical torture, witnessed torture, and were forced to beat other children. Sexual abuse was also common and there were no effective procedures to monitor teachers at that time. Many children died in boarding schools due to beatings, malnutrition, disease from overcrowding, and inadequate medical care. Children were forced to work without compensation at the schools during the school year and in the homes of white families during the summer.
In addition, the petitioners said that the schools had a policy of religious and cultural suppression. Dr. Lajimodiere described the punishment for children caught speaking in their native language: pins were jammed through tongues or lye (caustic soda) was put in their mouths. Lajimodiere explained that the legacy of these schools continues in the form of intergenerational abuse, the extinction of numerous native languages, and psychological distress. In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs still operates 66 boarding schools. The US has conducted no investigation and has not provided victims with any form of restitution.
The United States expressed a commitment to seriously engage in discussions and noted the steps taken by the Obama administration, such as the White House Tribal Nations Conference, an executive order requiring government agencies to consult with tribal governments on all issues that affect them, and the proposed $18.5 billion budget allocation for Native American programs. In addition, the United States has decided to review its position on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The United States has not signed or ratified this treaty. Eric Bruce Wilson noted that the United States recognized the historic wrongs committed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and said that the department remains deeply concerned about the continued effects of these historic policies.. Wilson said the Department will respond in writing to all the petitioners’ grievances.
Commissioners Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro and Rodrigo Escobar Gil both acknowledged the general improvements that the United States has made regarding the treatment of Native Americans. However, both asked the representatives of the US government to address the specific complaints brought by the petitioners. Commissioner Pinheiro focused on the need for more study of this issue and asked if the United States also planned to review its position regarding the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The US representatives declined to comment on the latter question, and said that they did not know of any studies on this particular topic, but that the government was open to proposals for further investigation. Rodrigo Escobar Gil asked whether the schools currently serving Native American children provide an adequate education that allows these children to preserve their cultural identity. The United States responded that much of the funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was used for schools and allocated $3 billion to tribal communities.
The Commission has made a significant effort into studying the human rights of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. The Commission issued a report in 2000 about the situation of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas and maintains a rapporteurship, currently held by Commissioner Dinah Shelton, on the rights of indigenous peoples. However, no study of boarding schools in the United States had been conducted by the Commission prior to this hearing. Although the hearing suggested that the United States has begun to change its policies toward its Native American minority, the legacy of boarding schools has not yet been specifically addressed by the United States and reparations for past wrongs have not been seriously considered.
