TULALIP, Wash. — Some native survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system got a chance to share their stories on Sunday as part of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland's yearlong cross-country tour, "Road to Healing."
"I don't want my kids to feel that way," said a survivor. He was just one of a handful of survivors who spoke out on Sunday, revisiting the pain that was felt while attending the federal Indian Boarding School System.
"He would come out with his belt, pick up a kid off the bed and wack him for crying," said a survivor.
Hundreds of thousands of Native children and teens nationwide were forced to leave their families and attend these schools up until the 1970s, with each school's mission being to erase the Native identity of the children.
"The family bond was broken," said a survivor. "When you're sent all different areas of the region and you're not allowed to come home."
Survivors said physical and sexual abuse were common in these boarding schools. A study released last year revealed there were more than 400 schools across 37 states, including 15 in the state of Washington.
"My ancestors and many of yours have endured the horrors of Indian Boarding School assimilation policies carried out by the same department that I now lead," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland.
Secretary Haaland helped spearhead Sunday’s event in Tulalip, which was the sixth stop on her nationwide year-long tour "Road to Healing."
"To create opportunities for people to share their stories,” said Secretary Haaland. “But also, to help connect communities with trauma-informed support and to facilitate the collection of a permanent oral history."
Secretary Haaland acknowledges the healing that will help native communities will not be done overnight. But she and other community members believe it can be done. "It's time for all of us to heal together and make a better tomorrow,” said a survivor.