Native American boarding school victims to speak of abuse

By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

MISSION, S.D. (AP) — Victims of abusive, government-backed Native American boarding schools are expected to testify as U.S Interior Secretary Deb Haaland continues a yearlong tour aimed at airing the troubled history of the institutions that were forced upon tribes. Saturday’s meeting is being held at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in southern South Dakota. Tribal members said they were forced to attend schools where their native language and customs were forbidden. The stated goal of such schools was to “civilize” Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, but that was often carried out through abusive practices.