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The abuse of Native American children

From 1869 until the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Native American children were placed in government and church-run boarding schools. They were taken from their families and their homes.

An early picture of Stewart Indian School. The school is now a museum (Courtesy of Stewart Indian School)
An early picture of Stewart Indian School. The school is now a museum (Courtesy of Stewart Indian School)

Deb Haaland – the first Native American to occupy the post of a cabinet secretary (Secretary of the Interior) in the US government – ordered an investigation into the conditions that Native American children endured in more than 400 boarding schools. This Department of the Interior report (released in May 2022) highlighted many of the abuses, such as instances of beatings, withholding of food and solitary confinement. It also identified burial sites at more than 50 of these former schools, with 19 federal Indian boarding schools accounting for over 500 American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian child deaths – with the number expected to grow as the investigation continues.

For more information on the initial findings of this report, see: Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, May 2022.