SUMMARY

In October, President Biden apologized for a U.S. policy that forcibly separated generations of Indigenous children from their families and sent them to boarding schools for forced assimilation into white society. An investigation uncovered abuse at the schools and the deaths of at least 973 Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Dana Hedgpeth.

View the transcript of the story.

News alternative: Check out recent segments from the NewsHour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.

WARM-UP QUESTIONS

1. Who launched an investigation into the history of Indigenous boarding schools?
2. How did boarding schools affect Indigenous communities?
3. When were Indigenous children forced into boarding schools?
4. Where were some of the boarding schools located?
5. Why do many Indigenous critics see this as only one important step in addressing the harms of the boarding schools?

FOCUS QUESTIONS

Do you think the federal government should do more than apologize for the effects of boarding schools? If so, what?

Media literacy: Who else do you think could have been interviewed to help understand the impact of these boarding schools in Indigenous people?

Alternative: See, Think, Wonder: What did you notice? What did the story make you think? What would you want to learn more about?

FOR MORE

What students can do: Learn more about the history of boarding schools and Indigenous people in the U.S. using this NEW case study on our site, Journalism in Action.

You can learn more about boarding schools and how they were viewed in the popular press using the Journalism in Action investigation here.

You can also watch the clip below for more on the history of boarding schools.

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