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I heard the stories from my Native American friends but never believed them to be true. But I am realising that that was just another facet of my white privilege.
Native Americans have been talking about the sad history of Native American boarding schools, where children were separated from their families, forbidden from speaking their native languages, and frequently beaten. Unfortunately, no one heard them and they have been suffering in silence.
More than 500 students have died at Native American boarding schools, according to a first-of-its-kind federal study, which has been conducted to assimilate Indigenous children into white society for over a century. Officials expect that number to rise exponentially as research continues.
Firstpost reported that the Interior Department report, issued on Wednesday, brings the total number of schools built or supported by the US government to more than 400, dating back to the early 1800s and extending in some cases until the late 1960s. The deaths were discovered in the records of around 20 of the schools.
Many students never came home, and the Interior Department estimates that the number of documented student deaths could number in the hundreds or possibly tens of thousands with more study. Disease, accidents, and abuse were among the causes.
This is a sad part of our reality and I sincerely hope that it is not swept under the rug again.