This Day
The Truth Inside Indian Boarding Schools (1928/2025) w/ Dana Hedgpeth
Feb 25, 2025
Dana Hedgpeth, a reporter for The Washington Post and an enrolled member of the Hollowa Saponi tribe, discusses her groundbreaking investigation into Indian boarding schools. She reveals the horrifying legacy of these institutions designed to 'Americanize' Native American children, where nearly 3,000 deaths occurred. The conversation delves into the traumatic experiences of survivors, the systemic erasure of cultural identities, and the essential role of storytelling in reclaiming these narratives and confronting a dark history.
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Quick takeaways
- The 1928 report on Indian boarding schools revealed severe abuse and cultural erasure, showcasing the government's failures in protecting Native American rights.
- Recent investigations estimate around 3,000 Native children died in boarding schools, emphasizing the urgent need for accurate historical documentation and healing.
Deep dives
The Impact of Indian Boarding Schools
The devastating effects of Indian boarding schools on Native American communities span generations, with a significant report submitted to the Secretary of the Interior in 1928 highlighting this crisis. This comprehensive report illustrated the federal government's failure to achieve its goals of protecting Native Americans, particularly their rights and cultural identity. Notably, it indicated that many children faced extreme hardships, including cases of abuse and neglect, while being forcibly assimilated into Western culture. More recent investigations suggest that around 3,000 Native children died in these institutions, a stark reminder of the tragic history surrounding these schools.
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