WKAR: Boarding school survivors share their stories with film

Tuesday, January 17, 2012  

"Starting in the late 19th century, tens of thousands of Native American children were taken from their reservations to Indian Boarding Schools. The goal was to assimilate Native Americans by replacing their traditional ways with those of the majority of Americans.

In a new documentary, called "The Indian Schools, the Survivors' Story", Native Americans in Michigan tell their memories of the boarding schools. For most of them, the experience was painful and humiliating. WKAR's Gretchen Millich has our story.

Edith Young is a native of Alaska who now lives in Michigan. As a child, she was forced to leave her parents to live at an Indian Boarding School in Seattle. In the film, she says although she's 80 years old, the memories still hurt.

"We were yelled at and slapped. In the 3rd grade, I asked the teacher why she was teaching that Columbus discovered America when Indians were here first. She came over and slapped me across my face. To be humiliated in front of the class, I'll never forget that.""

Get the Story:
Survivors of Indian boarding schools tell their stories (WKAR 1/11)