NABS Survey on POTUS Acknowledgement of Boarding Schools

About this survey

NABS is going to request a statement from the President before he leaves office specifically acknowledging the ongoing legacy of inter-generational trauma, cultural destruction, language loss and social and family upheaval caused by the US Boarding School Policy. We will call on the US Government to take definitive steps to address and heal these open wounds, working in collaboration with American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Nations, communities, and families.

This survey seeks to gather the requests and recommendations of our Coalition Members, Tribal Leaders, Community Members, and Allies in order to draft our request for a statement from the President about Boarding Schools in the US. Please share this survey with others. Thank you.

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* 1. Truth and History: It's important that POTUS recognize and acknowledge some facts about the Boarding School history in the US. Among the following, please let us know what you feel is important for POTUS to address. Check one or more boxes of what you think should be acknowledged:

How many US Indian Boarding schools were in existence in the US (approximately 500?)

Address the fact that some were Federally run and some were church run of various denominations

Acknowledge that Indian children were forcibly abducted, sent hundreds of miles away, beaten, starved, or abused

Recognize that parents of children were sent to jail or withheld rations and food supplies for noncomliance

Admit that most of these schools had shut down by 1940, but others stayed open and loopholes in the law allowed abuses to continue there into the 1980s

Tell the facts about how many children were sent to Boarding Schools, how many died at schools, and why there are graves marked "unknown" at many school cemetaries

Other (please specify)

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* 2. Historical Trauma: We know that our communities are dealing with the effects of historical and intergenerational trauma. What of the following points do you think its most important for POTUS to acknowledge about the trauma and impact of the boarding schools? Please rank in order of importance--1 being most important.

Acknowledge transfer of trauma through DNA: There's a growing body of evidence that the trauma and unresolved grief that AI/AN children carried home with them from the schools were passed down through generations (see studies on epigenetics)

Recognize correlation today: Boarding School trauma is one of the underlying causes of the suicides and substance abuse related deaths that are killing young Native people today in alarming numbers today (see 2014 White House report on Native Youth)

Target historical trauma for healing: There is a dire need for American Indian and Alaska Native peoples in the US to heal from the collective historical trauma of the schools and to prevent it from getting passed on to yet another generation

Other (please explain in comments at the end of survey)

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* 3. Acknowledgement: The US Boarding School Policy is the last to be acknowledged by the governments who were influenced by this US policy. Which of the following is most important for the US to acknowledge? Please rank in order of importance--1 being most important.

Acknowledge that the Canadian and Australian governments took the US's Indian school model and employed it against their aboriginal people

Admit that the prime ministers of both Australia and Canada apologized to aboriginal people for the devastating impact the schools have had on the social fabric of aboriginal communities and its time for US to do the same

Recognize that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission published a report with 94 recommendations for healing and reconciliation--and talk about why the US has not done the same.

Other (please explain in the comments at the end of the survey)

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* 4. Proclamation: When the President acknowledges the ongoing legacy of inter-generational trauma, cultural destruction, language loss and social and family upheaval caused by the US Boarding School Policy, we hope he will take steps to address the need for healing in our Tribal Nations, communities, and families.

What do you think is most important for POTUS to include in such a proclamation? Check one or more boxes or fill in the comment section.

Due to the loss of language resulting from the boarding school era the restoration of Native languages and language instruction in school should be made a priority

Due to the loss of cultural and religious practices resulting from the boarding school era the preservation of American Indian and Alaska Native sacred sites should be made a priority

Due to the high incidence of substance abuse and mental health issues resulting from the historical trauma of having attended boarding schools that increased funding funding of community-oriented healing programs in Indian Country and urban Native populations should be a priority

POTUS should call for the creation of a National Commission on American Indian Boarding School Policy to conduct hearings on boarding school abuses and their continuing impacts

POTUS should order a Study of Boarding School Impacts to Publish a Report with Recommendations

Other (please specify)

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* 5. What else do you think that a statement from the President of the United States should include regarding US Boarding School policy and impacts?

An apology

Expression of remorse

Explanation for why truth is still largely unknown

Other (please specify)

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* 6. In order to know who has responded to our survey, please tell us a little bit about yourself. Check all that apply.

I am a member of the Boarding School Healing Coaltion

I am an enrolled member of a Tribal Nation (please tell us your tribal affiliation in the comment section below)

I am a Tribal Leader (please tell us your tribal role in the comment section below)

I am a non-Native ally

I am a Boarding School Survivor

I am a descendant of a Boarding School Survivor

Other (please specify)

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* 7. Please tell us your name (and title if applicable)

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* 8. Thank you for participating in our survey. Please let us know the best way to get a hold of you if we have any questions.

Phone

Please enter your email address. We will not share it outside our organization.