3,100+ Indigenous Students Died at U.S. "Boarding Schools": Native American Journalist Dana Hedgpeth

A Washington Post investigation, led by Native American journalist Dana Hedgpeth, found that more than 3,100 Indigenous students died at U.S. boarding schools between 1828 and 1970. This figure is three times higher than the U.S. Interior Department's earlier report. These schools, designed to eradicate Native American culture and assimilate children into white society, often forcibly removed children from their families, leading to terrible conditions and many deaths.

Dana Hedgpeth, an enrolled member of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of North Carolina, explains her personal connection to the issue, noting that the impact of Indian boarding schools is widely known in Indigenous communities but largely ignored by mainstream society. While Secretary Deb Haaland's Interior Department did initiate an investigation, it focused primarily on federal records. The Washington Post's investigation expanded its research to include school records, death certificates, historical maps, and testimonies from survivors and researchers, leading to the significantly higher death toll. The very existence of cemeteries on school grounds underscores the tragic reality of these institutions.

The article highlights the poignant story of Almetah Heavy Hair, a child from the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1890. The investigation covered the emotional exhumation of her remains, along with two other children, John Bishop and Bishop Shield. Tribal members performed traditional ceremonies at the exhumation site, deliberately practicing customs that would have been punished at the schools. The children's remains were then transported 2,000 miles back to their homeland in Montana for reburial in a traditional way, emphasizing their return to their ancestral lands and culture.

The story of Johnson Key West, who died trying to escape a boarding school and return home, illustrates another tragic aspect of these institutions. His death certificate notably listed "frozen" as the cause. Hedgpeth describes these schools as "prison camps" rather than educational institutions, designed for forced manual labor and cultural eradication, rather than academic learning. Students often returned home with unusable skills and a loss of their native language and cultural identity.

The impact of these boarding schools continues to resonate today, with many elderly survivors still grappling with profound trauma. The forced separation from family, community, traditions, and language led to a massive cultural and knowledge gap. While there are ongoing efforts to rebuild Indigenous languages and cultures, the generational trauma from these institutions remains a significant challenge for Native American communities.