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Reporting the Truth.
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American Churches Reckon with Traumatic Legacy of Native Schools

By Associated Press
Indigenous Native first nations
Indigenous students pose for a photo outside of their Presbyterian boarding school in Sitka, Alaska in summer 1883. (Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia via AP)

The discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former church-run residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada have prompted renewed calls for a reckoning over the traumatic legacy of similar schools in the United States — and in particular by the churches that operated many of them.

U.S. Catholic and Protestant denominations operated more than 150 boarding schools between the 19th and 20th centuries, according to researchers. Native American and Alaskan Native children were regularly severed from their tribal families, customs, language and religion and brought to the schools in a push to assimilate and Christianize them.

Some U.S. churches have been reckoning with this activity for years through ceremonies, apologies and archival investigations, while others are just getting started. Some advocates say churches have more work to do in opening their archives, educating the public about what was done in the name of their faith and helping former students and their relatives tell their stories of family trauma.

“We all need to work together on this,” said the Rev. Bradley Hauff, a Minnesota-based Episcopal priest and missioner for Indigenous Ministries with the Episcopal Church.

“What’s happening in Canada, that’s a wakeup call to us,” said Hauff, who is enrolled with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

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This painful history has drawn relatively little attention in the United States compared with Canada, where the recent discoveries of graves underscored what a 2015 government commission called a “cultural genocide.”

That’s beginning to change.

This month top officials with the U.S. Episcopal Church acknowledged the denomination’s own need to reckon with its involvement with such boarding schools.

“We must come to a full understanding of the legacies of these schools,” read a July 12 statement from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the denomination’s House of Deputies. They called for the denomination’s next legislative session in 2022 to earmark funds for independent research into church archives and to educate church members.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a U.S. Cabinet secretary, announced last month that her department would investigate “the loss of human life and the lasting consequences of residential Indian boarding schools.” That would include seeking to identify the schools and burial sites.

U.S. religious groups were affiliated at least 156 such schools, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, a private group formed in 2012 to raise awareness and address the traumas of the institutions. That’s more than 40% of the 367 schools documented so far by the coalition.

Eighty-four were affiliated with the Catholic Church or its religious orders, such as the Jesuits. The other 72 were affiliated with various Protestant groups, including Presbyterians (21), Quakers (15) and Methodists (12). Most have been closed for decades.

Samuel Torres, director of research and programs for the coalition, said church apologies can be a good start but “there is a lot more to be done” on engaging Indigenous community members and educating the public.

Such information is crucial given how little most Americans know about the schools, he said, both in their impact on Indigenous communities and their role “as an armament toward acquisition of Native lands,” he said.

“Without that truth, then there’s really very limited possibilities of healing,” said Torres, who is a descendant of Mexica/Nahua ancestors, an Indigenous group from present-day Mexico.

Hauff noted that the experiences of former students, such as his own parents, ranged widely. Some said that even amid austerity, loneliness and family separation, they received a good education, made friends, learned skills and freely spoke tribal languages with peers. But others talked of “unspeakable, cruel abuse,” including physical and sexual assault, malnourishment and being punished for speaking Native languages.

“Even if some of the children did say they had a positive experience, it did come at a price,” Hauff said. “Our church worked hand in hand with the government to assimilate these children.”

In Canada, where more than 150,000 Indigenous children attended residential schools over more than a century, a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified 3,201 deaths amid poor conditions.

The United Church of Canada, which operated 15 such schools, has apologized for its role, opened its archives and helped identify burial sites.

The Catholic Church’s response in Canada remains controversial. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in June that he was “deeply disappointed” the Vatican has not offered a formal apology. Pope Francis expressed “sorrow” following the discovery of the graves and has agreed to meet at the Vatican in December with school survivors and other Indigenous leaders.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, meanwhile, said it would look for ways to assist in the Interior Department’s inquiry.

“We cannot even begin to imagine the deep sorrow these discoveries are causing in Native communities,” spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi said.

The Jesuit-affiliated America Magazine is urging U.S. Catholic bishops not to repeat their mishandling of cases of child sex abuse by priests. “The church in the United States must demonstrate that it has learned from … such failures,” the magazine said in an editorial.

Other churches have addressed their legacy to varying degrees.

Leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) traveled to Utqiagvik, Alaska, in 2017 to deliver a sweeping apology before a packed school auditorium for the treatment of Indigenous persons in general, and specifically for how it operated the boarding schools.

The Rev. Gradye Parsons, former stated clerk for the denomination, told the gathering that the church had been “in contempt of its own proclaimed faith” in suppressing Native spiritual traditions amid its zeal to spread Christianity. “The church judged when it should have listened.”

The United Methodist Church held a ceremony of repentance in 2012 for historic injustices against Native peoples. In 2016, it acknowledged its role in the boarding schools in tandem with a government effort to “intentionally” destroy traditional cultures and belief systems.

Still, the Native American International Caucus of the United Methodist Church recently urged the church to do more “to uncover the truth about our denomination’s role and responsibility in this reprehensible history.”

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12 Responses

  1. While we mourn the tragic deaths of these little innocent children, we must not become blinded to the fact that Canada has the most non-restrictive abortion laws in North America.

    If the church (and Canadians in particular) are interested in seeking truth and preserving life, it starts in the womb
    .
    Seek the truth for these who lost their lives too soon while also changing laws to prevent more loss of innocent lives from the murderous act of abortion.

    Speak out speak up for the voiceless!

  2. This article made me cry for all that suffering of families and children.
    My only consolation is knowing the Lord has a special place for all involved.
    Interesting photo shows that the children were not too happy with their new ‘christian’ life.
    Is there any end to the atrocities committed by ‘christians’ who think they are in the right?

  3. More atrocities done to other races in the name of Christianity, this one in our country and in our lifetimes. No mention of these schools in US history books either. I am deeply ashamed of my Northern European ancestry and its colonial ways. We have tried to extinguish/enslave/assimilate every other race we have encountered.

    1. Mickey F I want to echo having never heard of these “reform” schools (not sure what to call them) in any of the US history classes I took. I too am deeply ashamed of this atrocity in US history, especially those schools that were run by people claiming to be Christians . One encouraging development is the Evangelical Covenant Church’s attempt to acknowledge their part in this atrocity and do what they can to make amends: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/june/evangelical-covenant-church-native-americans-indigenous-doc.html?fbclid=IwAR3MyhSDtpeeaQhI8QpapLOGOJurCvRaDiX5KIk-OMZ9Nl3NIW0XKUbGDxw

  4. It will be good if following on the heels of the apologies would be funds to improve the living conditions on the reservations. More running water, inside toilets and good internet services. I just read an article on the challenges the Apache/Navajo students had to be schooled online during the lock down. Limited internet access on reservations.

  5. These “graves’ have been known about for years. by the natives and their families. The death rate from disease was about 33% in the general population as well at this time.
    Just another device to keep the money trucks rolling. Victimhood pays well.

    1. These “graves’ have been known about for years. by the natives and their families.

      Why did you put quotation marks around that word? And why did you mention that Indigenous people have known about them for so long?

      The death rate from disease was about 33% in the general population as well at this time.

      So? How does that justify family separations, forced conversions, and physical and sexual abuse?

    2. Fred you said these “graves” have been known for years–what is or are the sources of this statement. Also if this was about getting money-why now-not that i have read where anyone specifically is asking for money. BTW I did not read where you had any sympathy for these children.

  6. I have read about the schools in Canada and USA but the same problems were with the Swedish boarding schools who tried to acclimate the Sami (Laplander) boys and girls to “regular” Swedish culture. They were removed from families , forbidden to speak their native languages etc. This was about 1930 to 1960.

    1. Erik Blomstedt Australia also used to have an “assimilation” program for Aboriginal children and this program is depicted in the film: Rabbit Proof Fence.

  7. Facts:
    The children were sent to these schools by the GOVERNMENT.
    Nobody has identified what/who are in these graves.

    I dont doubt some atrocities occurred but shouldn’t we get some more information? There is a lot of persecution/oppression of churches in Canada and this fuels the fire, literally as they burn churches.

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