Federal funding dedicated to preserving stories of the systemic abuse experienced by Indigenous children in U.S. boarding schools has been significantly reduced, with at least $1.6 million in cuts. These reductions, made under President Donald Trump’s administration, reflect broader cost-cutting efforts across various federal institutions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The curtailment comes at a pivotal moment following a thorough investigation into these boarding schools by the prior administration and an official apology from former President Joe Biden. However, these funding cuts signal a dramatic shift in priorities.
Deborah Parker, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, emphasized the importance of acknowledging the true history of America. The coalition has faced over $282,000 in reductions, directly impacting its work to digitize a trove of boarding school records. For many Native Americans across the country, this database serves as a vital resource in tracking down relatives who suffered in these institutions.
Roberta “Birdie” Sam, a Tlingit & Haida member, utilized the database to confirm her grandmother’s enrollment in an Alaskan boarding school and revealed the attendance of additional family members at an Oregon institution, including one who perished there. This knowledge has been instrumental in her personal healing journey.
The decision to retract these funds was communicated by Michael McDonald, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, who indicated that the grants no longer aligned with the agency’s current priorities. Despite outreach efforts, neither the agency nor White House officials responded to requests for comments.
For over a century and a half, Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and subjected to boarding schools, where their cultural identities were systematically erased. According to an Interior Department report initiated by former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, many did not survive these harsh conditions, with the actual death toll believed to be significantly higher than the documented 973 cases. Comprehensive investigations into this dark chapter were not conducted until President Biden’s tenure.
Haaland, now pursuing the governorship of New Mexico, criticized the funding cuts as an attempt to obscure America’s full historical narrative. Despite setbacks, she pointed to the lasting impact of the stories shared by survivors and the acknowledgment from Biden.
Other initiatives are also feeling the brunt of the reduced grants, such as the collaboration between the Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and the Alaska Native Heritage Center, which lost crucial funding aimed at capturing oral histories from Alaska’s elders. Benjamin Jacuk from the Alaska Native Heritage Center expressed the critical need to record these fading stories.
The cancellation has been particularly frustrating for individuals like Bryan Newland, a former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. He emphasized that these modest grants had an enormous symbolic importance, even though their financial impact on the federal budget was minimal.
In April 2024, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced that over $400,000 was directed to support various tribal nations and organizations illustrating the boarding schools’ legacy. More than half of those awards have since been rescinded.
John Campbell, linked to Tlingit and Tulalip Tribes, found solace in the coalition’s database, which shed light on the generational trauma passed down from his parents, both of whom survived boarding schools. He recalled the harsh discipline his mother faced had origins in her school experiences.