- Details
- By Levi Rickert
HARBOR SPRINGS, Mich. — Tribal leaders and tribal citizens began arriving an hour before the start of second stop of "The Road to Healing" tour at the Pellston High School's gymnasuim on Saturday, August 13, 2022. By the time the event began, several hundred people were on hand as the Spirit Lake drum ushered in U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) and Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community).
Haaland and Newland were joined by other Interior Department staff from Washington, D.C. as they listened intently to testimony made by survivors and descendants for several hours.
Much of the testimony was similar to the first Road to Healing tour held last month at the Riverside Indian Boarding School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). However, Saturday's testimony differed because the much of the testimony was about what happened at the Holy Childhood of Jesus School (Holy Childhood) that was run by the Catholic Church. in Harbor Springs, Mich., 18 miles away. Holy Childhood operated until 1983, which allowed many of those making testimony on Saturday to give firsthand accounts of their experiences they encounted decades ago.
Native News Online will publish a more complete story on Saturday's testimony on Monday.
Below are photographs from Saturday's event:
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland gives opening remarks.
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Dr. Suzanne L. Cross (Saginaw Chippewa Tribe) is an expert on Indian boarding schools.
Crowd grew throughout the event.
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Chairwoman Regina Gasco-Bentley gives a greeting from the Tribe.
Assistant Secretary of the Interior - Indian Affairs Bryan Newland gives his opening remarks.
Bay Mills Indian Community Chairperson Whitney Gravelle
Aaron Payment (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe), Director of Government Relations at the National Indian Health Board
Ben Hinmon (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians)
Native News Online photos by Neely Bardwell.
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These stories must be heard.
This May, we are highlighting our coverage of Indian boarding schools and their generational impact on Native families and Native communities. Giving survivors of boarding schools and their descendants the opportunity to share their stories is an important step toward healing — not just because they are speaking, but because they are being heard. Their stories must be heard. Help our efforts to make sure Native stories and Native voices are heard in 2024. Please consider a recurring donation to help fund our ongoing coverage of Indian boarding schools. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
