By the early 20th century, more than 80% of all Native children attended Indian boarding schools. In California, the largest were the Fort Bidwell Indian School near Upper Alkali Lake in Modoc County, the St. Boniface Indian Industrial School in Banning, in Riverside County 85 miles east of Los Angeles, and the Sherman Institute in Riverside. In addition to the poor education that was geared toward the service industry, there was a summer “outing program” where students worked throughout Southern California. Many boys would spend their summers working on citrus farms in the Riverside area. Girls would work as domestic servants for people in Anaheim and other cities.
The opportunities for abuse and exploitation of these children were enormous and to this day have not been documented.
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