Report on American Indian boarding schools reveals horrible treatment of Indigenous children

The U.S. is acknowledging the large-scale and violent treatment of Indigenous students at more than 400 Indian boarding schools run by the federal government between 1819 and 1969, according to a report released by the Department of Interior on Wednesday. 

Over 500 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children's deaths occurred at 19 of the federal Indian boarding schools, according to the report. In total, 53 marked and unmarked burial sites were identified at these school facilities nationwide. The investigation is ongoing, and the department said it expects "the approximate number of Indian children who died at Federal Indian boarding schools to be in the thousands or tens of thousands."

Beginning in the early 19th century in the U.S., Indigenous children were "selected" from reservation schools and moved away from their families to attend the government-chartered schools, which were often subcontracted to Presbyterian, Catholic and Episcopalian religious organizations to operate, the report said.