Art
In 1949, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs ran boarding schools across the country, removing Native American children from their families and reservations. These schools aimed to assimilate children into mainstream American culture by replacing their languages, traditions, and identities with English and American customs.
Art · Full story
A child sits at a wooden desk in a long classroom lined with identical rows. The walls are bare. A teacher's voice echoes as dozens of students sit motionless, forbidden to speak their own language or use their own names. Outside the tall windows, home is hundreds of miles away.
Reflect
What would it feel like to be separated from your family and forbidden to speak your own language?