CHEBOYGAN — Eric Hemenway, director of repatriation, archives, and records for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, will review the history of Native American boarding schools in a presentation at 6 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Cheboygan Area Public Library.
The boarding schools were federal government and religious institutions that forced Native American children to assimilate into white culture through education while denying their own language and customs.
“From what I understand the children were not able to use their language or practice any of their traditions,” said Emily Clare, program director for the library.
According to the Northern Plains Reservation Aid, the schools began in 1860 when the first school was established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Yakima Indian Reservation in the state of Washington. The schools were in 30 states and remained active until the 1980s.
In Michigan, there were several schools in operation, including one in Harbor Springs. That school, Holy Childhood, opened in 1889 and ceased operations in 1983, according to Hemenway.
Clare said Hemenway will present a review of local history that remains relevant to all.
“It speaks to the diversity of our culture and our communities. It provides a basis for everyone to work together and move forward,” she said.
More:‘It’s not defining us’: Road to Healing offers safe space for boarding school survivors
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With the release of the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Reporton May 11 and the subsequent national news story referencing the tragic account of a former student at the Holy Childhood of Jesus School in Harbor Springs, the Diocese of Gaylord released a statement expressing “deep sorrow and apology for any wrongdoing that caused such lasting harm and suffering to former students such as Mr. Fred Kiogima.
“We stand ready as a faith community to extend our support to Mr. Kiogima and any other person grieved by childhood experiences at Holy Childhood of Jesus School. The Diocese of Gaylord will review the Department of Interior’s full report in order to discern the best path of healing and reconciliation moving forward and we will continue to cooperate with authorities, as appropriate,” the Most Reverend Jeffrey J. Walsh, bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord, said in a statement.
Northern Michigan was host to the second stop on the U.S. Department of Interior’s Road to Healing tour on Aug. 13. Nearly 1,000 people visited Pellston Middle/High School on that day to share their stories of surviving the boarding school system or to lend their support to those who were recording their experiences.
The first Road to Healing stop was in Oklahoma in July. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American woman to hold the position, will also visit Hawaii, Arizona and South Dakota this year, with additional states being announced later for 2023.
