By Melanys Perez Lopez
I remember my first day of kindergarten as if it was yesterday. I was so scared that I wouldn’t fit in with other kids because I didn’t speak English. I had only lived in the United States for a few months. By the time I got home, I was bubbling with excitement. I made two best friends who spoke Spanish, and suddenly, school wasn’t so scary. I had a wonderful teacher and received an excellent education. Unfortunately, not all children in the United States can say the same about their schooling. Between 1869 and the 1960s, many Native American children were sent to schools where their identities, language, and beliefs were taken from them. The United States and Canadian governments are responsible for this and should be held accountable for their actions.
In 1819, Congress passed the Civilization Fund Act. This act is responsible for the separation of children as young as 4 years old from their families. The children were required to live in church and government-run boarding schools. The purpose of these institutions was to “educate” Indigenous children by eliminating their language, culture, and traditions and replacing them with American values and religion, effectively erasing their cultural identity.
The heartbreaking truth is that these children were abused, sexually assaulted, neglected, and, at times, murdered. Over 900 Native American children died in U.S. boarding schools alone; Canada has discovered evidence of over 2,300 native children buried on the boarding school grounds. The last Indian Residential School in Canada was closed in 1996. The United States closed the boarding schools in the 1980s and early 1990s. It’s been 28 years, and many of those who attended these schools suffer from extreme PTSD to this day from what they endured in their childhoods. The responsibility for this monstrosity falls on the United States and the Canadian governments.
This is a topic that I didn’t learn about in school or from the news. I came across it in a ten-second TikTok video. I believe there is a severe lack of remorse in our government for what the Native American people of this country have endured. The families of these children deserve closure and justice, and our government must acknowledge them. How could we allow this to happen at the hands of a government that claims to serve and protect its people but fails to shield minorities time and time again? Think of the countless children who lost their innocence and childhood due to a lack of empathy from their government. This didn’t happen 100 years ago; this goes back less than 30 years ago. This fresh wound deserves to be healed before moving forward as a nation.
In writing this, I intend to raise awareness about an issue the media has overlooked and urge our governments to take concrete actions to address it. The White House has yet to acknowledge the abuse these children endured.
SOURCES
The National Native American Boarding Schools Healing Coalition.
The Residential School System
Residential school denialists tried to dig up suspected unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C., report finds
Sexual abuse of Native American children at boarding schools exposed in new report
