Collection: Every Native Child Matters
Between 1869 and 1978 more than 400 boarding schools were built near reservations, most run by religious organizations. Some 100,000 Native Americans were forced to attend these schools, forbidden to speak Native languages, made to renounce Native beliefs, and forced to abandon their Native American identities, including their names. Many children were leased out to white families as indentured servants. Many were beaten and touched in unspeakable ways. Tens of thousands lost their lives and were buried in unmarked graves.
