American Indian Boarding Schools: What Went Wrong? What Is Going Right?

Abstract

Boarding schools for Indigenous children in the United States and Canada have a deservedly bad reputation for mistreatment and abuse. However, faced with rapid loss of land and ways of life, some Indigenous families intentionally sent their children to school to learn English and to cope with new realities. Experiences in the schools varied. Some students endured traumatic experiences, while at times boarding schools served as a place of refuge from the harsh realities of life on Indian reservations and reserves. Assimilationist policies and practices attacked Indigenous languages, cultures, and identities in the boarding schools. Today Indigenous nations are reclaiming the education of their children, promoting strong Indigenous identities through culture-based education and language immersion.