Dive deeper into the history

Explore our curated collection of essential resources to deepen your understanding of American Indian boarding schools. These materials shed light on a critical period in U.S. history and the enduring legacy for Native communities.

Essential readings and reports

Here is a selection of scholarly works and official reports that have significantly contributed to our understanding of American Indian boarding schools:

  • Adams, David Wallace. Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875–1928. University Press of Kansas, 1995.
  • Child, Brenda J. Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900–1940. University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
  • Grande, Sandy. Red Pedagogy: Native American Social and Political Thought. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
  • Lomawaima, K. Tsianina. They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School. University of Nebraska Press, 1994.
  • Trafzer, Clifford E., Jean A. Keller, and Lorene Sisquoc, editors. Boarding School Blues: Revisiting American Indian Educational Experiences. University of Nebraska Press, 2006.
  • U.S. Department of the Interior. Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report. 2022.

Online archives and institutional insights

Further your research with these invaluable online resources, offering extensive archives and expert insights into Native American history and culture:

  • National Museum of the American Indian. Native Knowledge 360°. Smithsonian Institution.

These resources provide diverse perspectives and crucial information for a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Reflecting on the legacy

When you visit this page, we hope you will gain a deeper understanding of the profound experiences Native children and communities faced during the boarding school era. It is crucial to recognize the lasting effects of these schools while celebrating the incredible strength, resilience, and ongoing efforts of Native communities to preserve their cultures.

Our goal is for visitors to reflect on what they learn, respect Native histories and traditions, and continue to engage with Indigenous cultures. Preservation is not just about remembering the past; it is about supporting the living cultures, languages, and traditions that Native communities continue to protect today.

Resilience in the face of adversity

The most important message from these resources is that Native cultures and identities survived despite deliberate efforts to erase them. The boarding school era caused deep harm, but Native people showed incredible strength and resilience, protecting their heritage and passing their cultures on to future generations. Native cultures are not just part of the past—they are living, thriving communities today. Remembering this history helps us honor those who came before and understand why preserving Native languages, traditions, and stories remains vitally important.