Judy: The federal government detailed for the first time the brutality and treatment native American children suffered. Beginning in the 1800s, they were forcibly moved into U.S. Boarding schools. Leaders of different tribes and communities spelled out a litany of horrors they say lead to a cultural genocide that still impacts native Americans to this day. We looked at what the investigation found. >> Between 1819 and 1969, thousands of native American, Alaska native, and hawaiian native children attended these U.S. Government schools. Part of a system of over 400 facilities across 37 states, or then, territories. More than 500 children died while attending. Kids as young as four were removed from their families, transported across the country to schools where they were banned from speaking their language, forced to do manual labor, and suffered physical and sexual abuse. The secretary of interior spoke about her own connection to those schools during a difficult and emotional press conference. >> The fact that I'm standing here today is the first indigenous cabinet secretary is testament to the strength and determination of native people. I'm here because my ancestors persevered. I stand on the shoulders of my grandmother and my mother, and the work we will do with the federal Indian boarding school initiative will have a transformational impact on the generations who follow. >> Also at that event was our guest, Deborah parker. CEO of the national native American boarding school healing coalition and member of the -- tribe in Washington. They work with the government on this report. Welcome to the newshour and thanks for making the time. We can hear it in the sec.'s voice. I heard it in your voice when you were speaking. It is difficult. I wonder if you can tell us what was like in that moment. At it felt like in the room to finally come forward and share these findings. >> In that moment, it was like a release of an extreme amount of sorrow and grief. But also this feeling of pride that we are here today, we are in Washington, D.C., at our nation's capitol. I'm sitting next to an indigenous woman known as the secretary of interior. And we are here to share a story, share a truth that has not been told for generations. The enormous feeling of that has impacted so many of us for generations. And it is time that we tell this story. It starts with the interior report on the U.S. Boarding schools and how we have been impacted by the federal government on the lives of indigenous children and families. >> This first report is volume one. There will be more findings to come. Specifically, this work found marked and unmarked burial sites at 53 different schools. The remains of hundreds of children who died in U.S. Government custody. Tell us about the details uncovered in this investigation. What kind of treatment did those children go throughout those schools? How did they die? >> So many children were taken and never returned. Some were more murdered, buried on residential school -- boarding school sites, and near rivers, on hillsides. The stories are so enormous, and we know these stories from our relatives. We know these stories so well. We are waiting for the federal government, we are waiting for churches, for others to tell the story. When we talk about the pain, the beatings, tortures, children the other day -- a member from the alaskan tribe shared with me his mother was put in the basement of one of the boarding schools. She was chained to a heater and beaten daily. So hearing these stories, knowing that our relatives suffered so enormously is a lot to carry. >> We heard secretary Holland mentioned the idea of intergenerational trauma, that there is a lasting impact and legacy after what children went through, what a generation went through in those schools. The reports show the disparities are absolutely there. When you look at the American Indian and alaskan native communities, you see the highest rates of poverty, premature death, suicide, lowest rates of graduation. You believe this investigation can help to close some of those gaps? >> Absolutely. The hope is we find healing. The hope is we come together as a nation to not only tell of these truths, but also to begin to heal together. And our communities have known this truth for generations. It is time the U.S. Government understands these truths. It is time we listen, that we hold space for our traditional elders, our keepers of our language, it is time that we support tribal nations and indigenous peoples who continue to suffer. And we suffer -- when our children attend these schools, they are not taught our history. We are written out of the history books. The goal was killed the Indians, save the man. So for so many of us growing up in the U.S., all we wanted to be was the very best self we could be. We wanted to carry our traditions, we want to speak our language. But for our children and grandparents, that was beaten out of them. For me to take a class from my trbe, I sat there and cried. It was so difficult and I could not understand why. But my father shared with me that grandmother cried -- she tried to sing her song, but grandfather would say "Don't sing, they will arrest you, they will come and get you." These are moments that were so painful for our family, and meant for us to forget our songs. It was meant for us to forget our dances, ceremonies, and language. This generational pain exists very deep within our relatives across what these lands are now called, United States. This is our way of life. >> You mentioned you are not going to stop advocating until there's a full accounting from the U.S. Government. What does it mean to you? >> It means records. The records go back to the families that tribal nations are able to find the missing and murdered children, the government apologizes to these nations. Not only apologizes, but make amends. I don't have the recipe for the amends. It will be up to each tribal nation, each indigenous person who has suffered at the hands of this colonial system. We are just getting to the point we are telling our story. I think the rest of that will come as we listen to our elders, the stories. >> That is Deborah parker, CEO of the national boarding school healing coalition. Thanks for your time.
