Classroom essentials: Native American Boarding Schools

The U.S. government’s Native American boarding school policy — largely absent from history books — forcibly removed hundreds of thousands of Native children from their families between 1869 and the 1960s. The policy aimed to eradicate traditional Indigenous lifeways from future generations of Native peoples. Sent to over 526 federally and church-run schools, these children were forced to give up their traditional clothing, punished for speaking their language, banned from practicing their culture, and subjected to abuse and neglect. Many never returned home. In this episode, Allison and Odia talk with Deidre Whiteman (Spirit Lake Dakota/Hidatsa) from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition about how educators can approach this difficult topic in the classroom and what teaching resources are available. Deidre also discusses the understanding needed to address the ongoing trauma created by Native American boarding schools in the U.S. Questions or comments? Email us at [email protected]. RESOURCES National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition website: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/ National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition education resources: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/resource-database/education-at-the-edge-of-empire-negotiating-pueblo-identity-in-new-mexicos-indian-boarding-schools/ National Native American Interactive Digital Map of Indian Boarding Schools: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/digitalmap/ Subscribe to the Coalition’s email list: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/subscribe-to-e-news/ More information on Orange Shirt Day: https://orangeshirtday.org/ Books are Good Medicine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/booksaregoodmedicine/?hl=en Books are Good Medicine YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BooksAreGoodMedicine/featured Books are Good Medicine website: https://www.booksaregoodmedicine.com/