At least 973 Native American children died at U.S.-run boarding schools between 1871-1969

The Jicarilla Apache Boarding School in Dulce, New Mexico, in 1931. Text accompanying the photo identifies the students as “orphans.” (Federal Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report Vol. II / Princeton University Library)

The U.S. legacy of genocide against Native people through public education may never be completely told.

Today, there is a little more truth to share.

The second half of an investigative report was released Tuesday as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative led by the Department of the Interior. It’s another step in acknowledging, learning and potentially healing from harms the U.S. government caused people from every Indigenous nation in the country through federal school programs between 1819 and 1969 .

In the update to the report commissioned in 2021, the Interior Department estimates that more than $23.3 billion was appropriated by Congress to run an education system that forced at least 18,624 children from tribes across the country to schools where they were assaulted, forced to labor and assimilated until their entire culture was destroyed.

The report, which acknowledges that all of this new data remains incomplete, states that 973 children died in that period.

Researchers do not go into detail on students at boarding schools past 1969 or before 1819.

An additional 11 federal Indian boarding schools were identified. This brings the total number of schools to 417 .

The review also updates how many religious institutions were involved with the federal government in carrying out the education assimilation plan. The Catholic Church (80) and Protestant religion (134) were the most active in operating the schools. Four additional schools run by non-sectarian Missionary, Unitarian Church, the United Brethren in Christ and an “independent” denomination are also listed.

Between 1819 and 1969, the federal Indian Boarding School system operated in 37 states and territories, including New Mexico before statehood.

Based on information found in the investigation, the federal government said it can identify the name and tribal affiliation for the 18,624 children, some of whom are at 74 marked and unmarked graves across 64 school sites.

The Interior Department does not give specific locations and said it is working with tribal nations on how they want to return any person from these boarding school gravesites.

In New Mexico, 46 schools operated in the central and Four Corners regions of the state from 1819 to 1969. Only 32 of the many students at the Albuquerque Indian School during that time were identified.

Ten of the students who died in Albuquerque were identified. The report lists an unmarked grave and a marked grave for the school. In 2021, federal boarding school officials conducted a ground radar review of remains under a city park that was once part of the school.

The city of Albuquerque committed a section of the park for a memorial. That has yet to happen .

The Interior Department investigation identified 725 students who attended Santa Fe Indian School between 1819 and 1969, including 34 students that died.

Profiles for each school are listed for the public to view. Leading its disclaimer on the information , authors write, “The content of this document may be disturbing or distressing. The information in it is subject to change or revision.”

Eight recommendations for moving forward are listed, including community support for mental health treatment, a national memorial, returning land to tribes where boarding school sites are located, and establishing investments that could be modeled after repatriation work for First Nations harmed by Canada’s boarding school policies .

Indigenous communities face choices about Indian School gravesite in Albuquerque