On America’s 250th birthday we must remember the crimes of Indian boarding schools

As Americans celebrate their country’s 250th anniversary by blowing as many fingers and toes off as possible, it is important that we remember the legacy of the Indian boarding schools that were a key part of our government’s ethnic cleansing of indigenous cultures throughout this country. The Washington State attorney general’s office has been tasked with managing the Truth and Healing Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) to study the long-term impacts of Indian boarding schools in the state by gathering survivor testimony and to recommend policies that will help heal the intergenerational trauma caused. This is especially important in Washington as we hosted the first of these schools that were committed to removing any sings of indigenous culture, religion, or individuality.

In June, TAC released its second annual report into its activities This report discussed the listening sessions that were conducted with the survivors of the schools and the communities that are still coping with the aftershocks of the government’s efforts to eliminate their culture. The Yakima and Quinault tribes were the locations of this years listening sessions because of they were victims of two of the original boarding schools in the country. These tribes were ripped apart when they’re children were forcefully taken from their homes and brought to these schools; many of these children would die in the schools, their families would never receive closure – on rare occasions at Fort Simcoe, students remains were returned.

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But the vast majority of those lost in these schools were buried in on marked graves. Cadaver dogs in the Yakima Valley have already found indications that there are unmarked grave at the Simcoe historical site.

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The first federally funded Indian boarding school in the Untied States was the White Swan at Fort Simcoe. It operated for 60 years from 1860 to 1920 when it burned down. None of the historical markers and signage on the fort’s site indicate this dark piece of its history, which has forced activist to hunt down archaeological evidence of the school on their own. This has been complicated because none of the survivors that were at White Swan are still alive and the activist are relying on the oral history passed down to their family members.

White Swan was one of two boarding schools in the Yakima Valley, the second one was run by the Sisters of Providence and was called St. Francis Xavier Indian Boarding School. St. Francis Xavier was located on modern day Naches Avenue between C & D streets.

Many of the children from the Quinault tribe were sent to the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Ore. They were ripped away from their families and shipped hundreds of miles away. The goal was to completely assimilate the indigenous children into American culture so that the culture of their people would be wiped away.

I was disconnected
from family, didn’t know
where I fit in. I was not
raised in our culture. – A quote from the Quinault listening session

Unlike the two boarding schools in the Yakima Valley, Chemawa is still an active boarding school. Although the schools mission has shifted from assimilation as its now an alternative high school for Native American children who choose to attend.

Indian boarding schools were active in Washington State until the 1970s. Over the 110+ year history, a the Evergreen state was home to a minimum of 29 but it’s likely higher due to the shoddy preservation of records regarding these schools.

While these listening sessions are critical to the mission of TAC, the state requires that they are funded through the reimbursement process. This means that the tribes that host these sessions have to front the cost before they fill out the paperwork and submit them to get the cost reimbursed. It’s a problem for the tribes because there is no guarantee that they’ll have the cash on hand to cover the up front cost associated with these sessions, especially since the state is the one to initiate this engagement.