wsj.comFor
years, alumni from the Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in Oklahoma
have been searching for information about the students who died at their
old boarding school, one of hundreds once set up by the U.S. government
to assimilate young Native Americans.
Sifting
through archived records, the volunteer group has compiled 67 names,
but with little funding for more research, they have no way of knowing
how many of the children are buried in Chilocco’s cemetery, which bears
only a single marked grave.
Theirs
is one of numerous efforts by tribal historians and researchers over
the past several years to uncover evidence of Native Americans who died
at the boarding schools. Until now, these grass roots investigations
have been stymied by limited resources and logistical hurdles.
Now,
those leading the projects are hoping a new federal investigation can
shed light on a mystery that has haunted Indian Country for generations.
In June, Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland launched a review of
Native American boarding schools, hoping to figure out how many
students died at the institutions—whether from disease, accidents or
mistreatment—and where they are buried. The move was spurred by the recent discovery of mass graves of indigenous children at boarding schools in Canada.
“The
government abandoned this sacred site when they closed Chilocco in
1980,” said Jim Baker, the alumni group’s president. If the Interior
Department provides resources, he added, “then we can do a comprehensive
ground-penetrating radar survey.”
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