- Details
- By Jenna Kunze
Washington, a state home to 29 federally recognized tribes, hosted 17 of the nation’s more than 500 Indian Boarding Schools, according to an up-to-date list from the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. The institutions operated from the 1800s through 1970 with the aim to forcibly assimilate Native children into white society.
On Oct. 3, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the five-person committee, which includes representatives from Yakama Nation, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, Quinault Indian Nation, Tlingit and Cowichan First Nations, and Lummi Nation.
“These schools are not just a shameful part of our history — the trauma they caused reverberates through generations of Indigenous families,” Ferguson said in a statement. “With this new committee, we start a long but essential journey toward healing.”
The committee will hold public listening sessions across the state over the next year to hear accounts from boarding school attendees and their descendants in an effort to “[uncover] the full history of Indian boarding schools in Washington,” according to a press release from Ferguson’s office. The listening sessions will begin in January 2024.
Additionally, the Tribal Advisory Committee will utilize the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Investigative Report, in addition to the Native American Boarding School healing coalition’s work—to research the history of the 17 schools identified in Washington.
Deborah Parker (Tulalip), CEO of The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and a tribal member based in the state, said that her organization is grateful for Washington state’s leadership in not only seeking truth but promoting healing.
“We need other states to follow suit and work with Tribes and Native communities to bring the truth about this dark history to light,” Parker said.
The committee will submit a report to the state in 2025 with recommendations on how the state can address the harm caused by Indian boarding schools and other cultural and linguistic termination practices.
More Stories Like This
Call for Entire Ninth Circuit Rehearing of Apache Stronghold to Vindicate Tribal Nations’ Land-based Religious PracticesNewland Touts Biden's Investing in America Agenda at Bison Release at Taos Pueblo
Photos of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe’s Powwow
NCAI President Calls for Indigenous Participation in United Nations
Army Seeks Extension in Lawsuit Over Return of Native Childrens’ Remains
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.
