A child arriving at a boarding school often lost more than a home address. Many lost their hair, their clothing, their language, their daily contact with family, and the freedom to practice ceremonies that had guided their communities for generations. Indian boarding schools were not simply schools. In the United States and Canada, they were part of a larger government and church-backed effort to assimilate Indigenous children into white society. The system treated Native lan
A child arriving at a boarding school often lost more than a home address. Many lost their hair, their clothing, their language, their daily contact with family, and the freedom to practice ceremonies that had guided their communities for generations. Indian boarding schools were not simply schools. In the United States and Canada, they were part of a larger government and church-backed effort to assimilate Indigenous children into white society. The system treated Native lan