Op-Ed by Christine Diindiisi McCleave (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe), CEO
December 1, 2020 – Imagine rarely, if ever, hearing the words “I love you” during your entire childhood. As unbelievable as this may seem, this was the experience of so many Native Americans who were forced to attend Indian boarding schools where many were routinely abused, neglected, and tortured. They were isolated from their families and communities and forced to forget their culture, all in the name of ‘civilization.’
This year, many of our Elders are living alone, socially distanced and quarantining from family and friends to protect themselves from the dangers of contracting COVID-19. For some of our Elders who attended Indian boarding schools, the isolation they may be currently experiencing might remind them of often difficult experiences at these institutions when they were separated from family and community.
Many children never returned home, and those that did survive these harrowing experiences were often changed forever. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of Native children were forced to attend the 367 known Indian boarding schools over the course of one hundred years until about 1970. This strategic eradication of culture, community, and family bonds unsurprisingly resulted in resulting in long-standing intergenerational trauma leading to cycles of violence, abuse, disappearances, and premature deaths that impact Native Americans today.
Early in September, we started mailing out care packages to Elders around the country to show them how important they are to us. These beautiful “We Love You!” Elder Care Packages have been carefully arranged in partnership with Deborah Parker and volunteers from the Tulalip Tribes community in Washington state, filled with items that were created or produced by Indigenous artists, healers, entrepreneurs, companies, and friends from across Turtle Island.
Our goal is to reach one thousand Elders that have either survived their experience at an Indian Boarding School, or who are direct descendants of survivors who are over the age of 60. We invite all who qualify to apply for a care package at our website.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) is taking concrete steps to address the painful legacy of Indian boarding schools.
First of all, we are uncovering the truth to understand and document what actually happened during this period. Our researchers, program staff, and partners are working with religious and government institutions to recover information and create a digital archive that can serve as an enduring and accurate record of the truth and help individuals who want to understand their family histories. It’s a lot of painstaking work and it will be a long journey before the archive is ready.
Only by knowing the truth can healing then happen. We are focused on building a structure and program to engage survivors and descendants and facilitate healing. Part of this involves creating spaces for them to come together and share their stories. Trauma can be painful to relive—many understandably don’t want to share at first as it can open wounds and re-trigger their trauma. But sharing is an important part of healing even though as Indigenous peoples sometimes we don’t like to tell others about our trauma.
But it’s so important for others to hear those stories, especially our families, to help them understand why things are the way they are, and how it has impacted them and Indian Country at large today. We support a restorative justice process that includes an acknowledgement of history—something this country has never done. We’re thrilled about the “Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the U.S.” sponsored by Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) The conversation is catching on and to have elected leaders help lead the charge now is phenomenal.
So, whether you are a survivor, descendant, advocate, or ally, we need you to be part of this conversation. We invite you to join allies like the band “Portugal. the Man” who have generously volunteered to sponsor a number of packages, and we’d love to have you join us as members of our healing coalition.
Our elders carry irreplaceable wisdom, traditional teachings, and ancestral languages from our homelands, and we are thankful for all their presence and patience among us.
