Native Americans recall torture, hatred at boarding schools

The ruins of a building that was part of a Native American boarding school on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in Mission, S.D., are seen on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. Former students described mistreatment they received at the school, during a "Road to Healing" event led by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

MISSION, S.D. (AP) — Victims of abusive, government-backed Native American boarding schools are sharing their experiences as U.S Interior Secretary Deb Haaland continues a yearlong tour to confront the troubled history of the institutions that were forced upon tribes.

During a Saturday meeting at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in southern South Dakota, tribal members recalled being sent off to schools where the use of their native language and customs would bring swift and sometimes severe punishments.

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.