MADISON, WI (WRN) – A search for the remains of Native American children could include the sites of former boarding schools in Wisconsin.
US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland recently announced a comprehensive review of policies governing the schools, which forced assimilation in the 19th and 20th centuries.
There were ten American Indian Boarding Schools operating in Wisconsin during that period, run by churches, government, and private organizations.
The schools attempted to assimilate Native children into European–American culture, a goal often accompanied by force and abuse.
Hundreds of remains have been located at the sites of former boarding schools in Canada, as part of that government’s efforts to locate graves of Indigenous children.
