by Celine Ramos
The remains of 9 children who died at Carlisle Indian Reform school were returned to their home with the Rosebud Sioux tribe on July 16. Although 11 out of the 180 children buried on Carlisle grounds were identified as belonging to the Rosebud Sioux tribe, only 9 were able to be both identified, named and returned home. After being passed over to their tribe in a ceremony, those remains were taken through various stops on a caravan for their cultural practices as well as grieving on the way to the Rosebud Sioux Reservation.
On a trip to Washington D.C. for a conference in 2016, Elders of the Rosebud Sioux Youth Council encouraged their youth to visit the former Carlisle school, now named the US Army War College, to investigate the area where the children were buried. The young tribal members discovered that the children were buried in a highly congested area of the school’s grounds and the youth then began campaigning to bring the children back home. Council member Eagle Bear recounts that this isn’t the first time that the Rosebud tribe attempted to bring the remains of the children home. In 1880, the Rosebud tribe’s Chief White Thunder and Chief Swift Bear sent a letter to the US Indian Commission asking for their 4 children to be returned. That request was denied as were similar requests made by many other tribes for their family members who passed away on the grounds of similar boarding schools to be returned to their homes. Though this process has taken decades to come to completion and the COVID-19 pandemic threw new spanners in the works, the children were taken to key points across other reservations for prayers, ceremony, and remembrance starting with the first event held on the former Carlisle school grounds.
After this ceremony, the children’s remains were boarded onto a caravan so that young tribe members could take them to several different ceremonies for cultural prayers and events attended by tribe members and families of the children. Some of the ceremonies the caravan stopped at included a prayer service held at Tyson Events Parking Lot in Sioux City, Iowa, Santee Sioux Reservation for prayers, and Yankton Sioux Reservation in Nebraska where elders held a ceremony for the remains finally reaching their destination.
The journey began on Wednesday July 14th with a ceremony attended by the US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland who reiterated her dedication to bringing the remains of children who died at boarding schools that were located on US territory home in the wake of nearly 1000 unmarked graves of indigenous children being discovered on school grounds in Canada. Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary and announced in June that the federal government was to carry out investigations of the schools that were used to forcefully assimilate and abuse indigenous children, and there is no doubt her authority has been essential to the Rosebud Sioux children being returned to their tribe. At the event held on the former Carlisle school grounds, she spoke on the assimilation efforts that were carried out by the school and institutions like it and how Indigenous children were forced to give up all of their cultural ties. On top of that assimilation, it’s known that severe corporal punishment and even sexual abuse were common. What Haaland wants above all is to elucidate the truth of what occurred at these schools and to reunite the children with their tribes, which will allow some semblance of healing to begin for the tribes and families as well as for the children. Haaland stated, “We want our children home no matter how long it takes”.
Information:
Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) began in 1994 to assist survivors of these systemic abuses. IRSSS provides essential services to Residential School Survivors, their families, and those dealing with Intergenerational traumas. They have compiled a call-to-action for the Canadian government that you can find here: https://www.irsss.ca/downloads/trc-calls-to-action.pdf
Support is available for anyone affected by the lingering effects of residential schools, and those who are triggered by the latest reports. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-721-0066.
A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former students and those affected. Access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.
Within B.C., the KUU-US Crisis Line Society provides a First Nations and Indigenous-specific crisis line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's toll free and can be reached at 1-800-588-8717 or online at kuu-uscrisisline.com.
Indigenous Creators
https://news.umanitoba.ca/graphic-novel-aims-to-educate-k-12-learners-on-residential-school-history/
Learn more about these Residential Schools
Books by Indigenous Authors
The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad
11 Children's Books About Residential Schools
Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Vol 1 Summary
Finding My Talk: How Fourteen Canadian Native Women Reclaimed Their Lives After Residential School by Agnes Grant
From Bear Rock Mountain: The Life and Times of a Dene Residential School Survivor by Antoine Bear Rock Mountain
They Called Me Number One: Secrets and Survival at an Indian Residential School by Bev Sellars
Sources:
Native American children’s remains returned from boarding school
Rosebud SiouxTribe Repatriation: Children’s remains returning Friday
Remains of Rosebud Sioux children begin journey back to South Dakota
US to Review Native American boarding schools’ dark history
https://apnews.com/article/canada-government-and-politics-education-e9440169fde104df6fad6e0ba7128b0e
Rosebud Sioux Tribe Children’s remains turned over from Army cemetery
Rosebud Sioux Tribe Repatriation Info
Update on Residential School Findings in Canada
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