Amid the thunder of the Eagle Spirit Drum and the soaring voices of the Snow Bird Singers, the Atrium in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian was filled with the vibrant sights and sounds of a culture nearly lost to federal “Americanization” policies. Now Indians and Congress are trying to heal old wounds.
Along with presentations from White Bison Inc., more than 200 visitors and guests heard true stories from Indian veterans, tribal elders and professionals about the effects of the Indian boarding school era.
White Bison was founded in 1988 as the vision of Don Coyhis of the Turtle Clan, Mohican Nation, who is originally from the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation in Wisconsin. Now located in Colorado Springs, White Bison originally set out to raise awareness and treat alcoholism among Indian youths on the reservations. But after studying the underlying causes of alcoholism, White Bison’s mission expanded in 1999 to include drug addiction, dysfunctional relationships and the American Indian suicide rate. From this, the Wellbriety Movement was born.
The teachings of Wellbriety go beyond being sober to include thriving in the community and maintaining good emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual health in all areas of life.
The keynote speaker of the June 24 Smithsonian event was psychologist Eduardo Duran, director of health and wellness of the Auburn Rancheria, United Auburn Indian Community in Loomis, Calif. He described an underlying cause of Indian cultural challenges as “trans-generational trauma.”
Mr. Duran said that trauma-induced behaviors are present in many cultures, including native Canadians, Aborigines, black Americans, the Irish and more. The negative effects of trauma, he said, are passed down from one generation to the next until the repercussions from this behavior become a widespread and destructive cultural force.
American Indians often point to the 1800s, when the federal government recommended forming the U.S. Training and Industrial School, which was formed in 1879 at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania. (The site currently is home to the Army War College.) The Carlisle school became a model for similar schools across the country - schools that followed policies suggested by Capt. Richard H. Pratt titled “Kill the Indian and Save the Man.”
The number of schools remains in debate - some experts say the number is as low as 100 while others say it was nearly 500. What is not in dispute is that “Americanizing” thousands of American Indians was the intent of the boarding schools.
Most of the schools were run by church organizations, and they followed a military-style platform set forth by Pratt to remove tribal customs from Indian youths. Indian children, who didn’t know the English language for the most part, were taken from their homes and brought to the schools without explanation and placed on a strict regimen.
Punishments were harsh. According to some stories, many youths were severely punished without even knowing why. At some of the former schools, small graves marked “unknown” serve as reminders of the treatment.
Upon their release, many school attendees had difficulty returning to their homes because they were scorned by their tribes. Yet, they were not accepted by American society either. For these people, their fates lay in a socioeconomic wasteland. Some persevered and succeeded against the odds, but the damage was done.
The schools closed in the 1960s, but experts say generational damage still runs its traumatic course.
Traumatized from treatment at the boarding schools, many Indians turned to alcohol and drugs. Science has since shown that alcoholism, addiction and abuse become a family dynamic. This trans-generational ill effect is the target of White Bison’s Wellbriety Movement, and progress is being made.
A Wellbriety Journey for Forgiveness traveled nearly 6,800 miles and visited 23 historic boarding school sites across the nation to promote awareness and dialogue about the Indian boarding school era. It is believed that by opening hearts and minds, the healing process can begin.
Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican, and Rep. Dan Boren, Oklahoma Democrat, reintroduced legislation this session in both houses of Congress seeking an apology from the federal government, without reparations, for its treatment of American Indians.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passed a bipartisan resolution on Aug. 6 that “acknowledge* a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes and offer* an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.” It also “urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land.”
Australia and Canada have already issued similar apologies.
White Bison would welcome an apology and has started a petition, but according to Mr. Coyhis, “To forgive the unforgivable, an apology is not required. We want to capitalize on healing.”
• Brad Kelley is a writer living in Severna Park.
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