"It's cheaper to educate Indians than to kill them." - - Indian Commissioner Thomas Morgan speaking at the establishment of the Phoenix Indian School in 1891 "Kill the Indian, save the man." - - Carlisle Indian Industrial School motto “The reservation boarding school system was a war in disguise.” Sonja Keohane.

( <--- BezhiigMaiingan's dad and uncle leaving for The Indian Academy in Mount Pleasant, MI...1914)

Grandma's Greatest Fear by Shelley Garrett Smith My Grandma lived in terror that marked the lives of her children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. She feared the U.S. government would steal her children and send them to Indian boarding school. I never learned which school she herself had been sent to, during her childhood in the late 1800's and early 1900's, but her experience shattered a part of her heart and mind. Because of this trauma the family kept on the move; living in tents and abandoned railroad cars, sneaking on and off reservation. They tried their best to stay off government lists of any kind, or, when this was not possible, to give misleading information (on one list my father's cousin is listed as his sister, on another list my grandmother is named Lizzy altho Elizabeth was only her middle name). Being Indian became a secret in my generation; the message was to be proud of it but to hide it if we could pass for white and maybe this would protect us. Our children don't always know much about Grandma but they know about her fear. I had thought that those awful schools-cum-concentration camps were a thing of the past by the time I came along in the 1950's, but the accounts of people in these videos show that people were still being subjected to these attrocities when I was a grownup. These videos explain my Grandma's life-twisting terror so well that I had to cry for her pain as I watched them.

Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School From: Richheape	Indian Boarding School Abuse From: robertleokelly
Residential School--Honoring Our Parents From: niitsitapi07	Witness to murder at Indian Residential School From : infiniLor

Working to heal the wounds of boarding school.

Support the efforts of New Native Nation’s Webmaster and keep this site growing!

Tell a Friend About This Page! Your Name: Your E-mail: Friend's Name: Friend's E-mail:

Back to Elders Speak Up

Home

Contact New Native Nation (nnninfo@yahoo.com)

Page and web set graphics by Nunyageya copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009