The actual death toll of Native American children who perished in U.S. boarding schools is estimated to be over 3,100, according to an investigative report by The Washington Post. This figure is more than triple the government’s official count, shedding light on a long-hidden chapter of American history.
During this period from 1819 to the 1970s, hundreds of Indian boarding schools were set up in various parts of the United States to assimilate forcibly Native American children into the European settler culture. These schools forced conversion through the imposition of Christianity and instilled discipline on the minds of the children while depriving them of their culture and families.
Grim Revelations About Death Of Students
The investigation revealed that between 1828 and 1970, 3,104 Indigenous students died while attending these schools. Conditions at the schools were often described as “prison camps” by experts. Children died from diseases, malnutrition, and accidents, while others died from unknown causes.
Most of the dead were buried in unmarked graves near the schools, away from their families and tribal communities. Due to poor record-keeping and neglect over the years, it has been hard to fully understand the extent of the tragedy. Gravesites have been paved over or buried; therefore, no one can know the exact number of people who died. The investigation was based on an extensive review of “hundreds of thousands” of government documents, highlighting systemic failures in accountability and transparency.
Nation Confronts Its Past
In October, President Joe Biden made a landmark apology, apologizing to what he said were “one of the most horrific chapters in U.S. history”—removing Native American children from their families, then putting them into sometimes brutal institutions. His action was triggered by a government report that had identified almost 1,000 child deaths but whose toll everyone now knows had probably run significantly higher.
Since then, the Biden administration has promised to stand by Native American communities and address issues such as strengthening tribal sovereignty, protecting sacred lands, and dealing with systemic problems like gender-based violence. Native Americans, however, are still one of the most marginalized groups in the United States, fighting poverty and the long-term effects of historical injustices.
The revelations bring to mind similar findings from Canada, where more than 4,000 children are estimated to have perished in similar residential schools. A government commission in Canada branded the institutions as being responsible for “cultural genocide.”
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