Why One Historic Indian Boarding School is Now...Good?

Why do so many Americans question Native’s existence? Why do 27 states exclude Native American history in K-12 schools? And what is up with all the Native American Mascots? This episode explores the dark legacy of Indian boardings, the failures of modern education, and the trauma, misconceptions, and racism endured by Native Americans as a result.

NOTE: A previous version of this video cited a survey statistic which could not be corroborated. The video has been updated to remove the mention.

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[peacelovehopecharity]

I was living in Lawrence KS when Haskell made the transition from a junior college to a university. One contributing factor to its "low rankings" may be it initially only offered 4 year degrees in a few education and agricultural programs. The rankings favor schools with robust arts and sciences programs, and agricultural sciences are sometimes treated unfairly as a second class science.

[cherisenunez]

My mom was born on the Pine Ridge reservation in the 50s. Ok, she's my step mother but in reality she is my MOTHER and she kept me even after the divorce... So did her whole family, even though I was just this little white kid they kept me and loved me. I'm beyond proud to say my mother and sisters and aunties and uncle are Oglala Sioux and that these are the humans that taught me how to be a human.
Europeans not only committed a tragedy against all native nations but also against themselves - just imagine what kind of world we could be living in had these cultures been learned, understood, allowed to flourish and become part and parcel of today's culture...

[MiguelJuanez]

Years ago, I worked with AMAZING Haskell University students on sustainable community development projects cross-culturally in Mexico. Lifelong friends who have helped me uncover my Indigenous Mexican roots allowed my native pride to flourish further.

[phthisis]

Woof. I'm going to have to thank my parents for raising me in college-town hippy communities where indigenous people and minorities regularly celebrate their cultures, like the Native Nations Festival, Celtic Festival, Nikkei Matsuri, and the First Peoples Festival.

[maakewi]

Current Haskell Indian nations university student I love the way they included the history of a boarding school survivor. we have generations and generations of families that have came from this school, parents even meeting here.

[piioshua]

Haskell Indian Nations University students have a great program to take some other courses offer at neighboring Kansas University in Lawrence. And KU students also have opportunity to take courses at Haskell that aren't offered at KU.

[mmps]

I'm so curious about this topic. The episodes of Reservation Dogs about the boarding schools were so powerful.

[nerdyrevelries]

I feel like you could solve so many problems by paying modern Native Americans to make art pieces using traditional techniques for museums and then properly labeling them as such and giving credit to the individual who made each piece as well as that person's heritage. Because then people would still have a way of seeing this important part of American culture, but it would be grounded in the here and now. It would literally say, "We're still here" to anyone who views it.

Furthermore, it wouldn't be stolen. It would be bought from the people who made it and they would get to choose the content and could make it something that they are comfortable sharing with people rather than something sacred or private.

I'm not Native American, but I absolutely support their artifacts being repatriated. At the same time, I think it would be sad if the main way your average white American interacted with Native American culture was through whitewashed textbooks. We should put the ability to share their history and their culture in the hands of the people who created it.

[willmendoza]

Watching with tears in my eyes. My grandma went to one of the old style boarding schools. It was so terrible for her that I can’t even express it coherently. Thanks for shedding a light on this.

[Sad_Bumper_Sticker]

Listening the these Indigenous Students’ Stories is heartwrenching.

[JayGrrl]

My family went to some of the boarding schools in Wisconsin: Hayward Indian Boarding School (Lac Courte Oreilles), St. Mary's Indian Boarding School (Bad River), and Lac du Flambeau Government Boarding School. Two of them closed after the Great Depression, but the latter, Lac du Flambeau, at least rebranded with government funding from the BIA in 1975 for cultural and language restoration (I even remember going to my first Ojibwe language classes out there with the AODA program as a young one.) Now, I teach at one of the handful of Indigenous Alternative Education schools in the Nation, started by AIM, making sure the language is taught to our young ones.

[kariannecrysler]

More please!!! These are the truth & that is what everyone needs now…. Actuality. The only way to atone for mistakes is to fully admit them imo.

[zu_]

I have two cousins from Pine Ridge rez who attend there now and many family members who have graduated from Haskell.

[bensollenberger]

I'm so glad you posted this video. A lot of us have heard of the boarding schools but we might not know all the details, or the larger context. Content like this probably helps more than you know.

[dmikewilcox]

Thank you to making this series of videos. They are well done.

[singletona]

I am not native american. I support the return of artifacts and the dead that are being paraded about as trophies as if they are from a long dead burried peoples back to where those people still live or whatever they wish done. I wouldl ike some exhibits to remain, or t obe created to educate but at the same time you are correct in that there is this perception and portrayal that native peoples are culturally if not ethnically... dead.

'We' (the US government) broke faith and treaty wit hthe native peoples time and time again. There needs to be a redress. This isn't 'Hey everyone who is on paper native american gets money' that is an empty gesture that does nothing but give conservitives a club to beat people with. There needs to be systimic change so that natives are given a fair seat at the table so their voice is heard where and how it matters most.

We've taken too much already, and even giving (what i consider an impossibility given the pushback) full voting rights, or enlarging and assisting in making the reservations more.... None of that will undo what has been done, but at this point doing more than just empty hand wringing would be nice.

"We The People' .... Well, you guys were here first. You are part of that 'We' and the rest of us should acknowledge that.

[sharoneicher]

While living in Lawrence KS, I greatly enjoyed the big powwow and art fair every August. It showcased amazing dancers, music, and arts. It shared native talents with the community.

[Oka.Hashininakaya]

My dad’s parents and my mom’s grandmother all went to boarding schools. I saw the different ways in which the schools affected the generations to come. My dad ended up being a very, very abusive and traumatized person, while my mom grew up with the love of her culture. I still live with the trauma of what happened to my VERY close relatives. I’m 21 and this horrific part of Indigenous history STILL effect generations and still might effect the next generations to come. It’s crazy the amount of people I meet that still have NO CLUE the atrocities our ancestors went through and most of us go through today. Yakoke to Dr. Klein for sharing her story and sharing her wisdom and warmth

[prettypic]

Went to the Autry Museum's exhibit on Sherman Indian School a few months ago. It was created in conjunction with the current school administration and it's graduates and it's amazingly informative (I believe it'll be there until May if anyone coming to LA wants to check it out)

[tecpaocelotl]

Sherman Indian High School, which was a historical Native American boarding school, has a native mascot as well.