Born and raised on Navajo and Ojibwe reservations, three of endawnis Spears鈥檚 four grandparents were among the estimated hundreds of thousands of Native children separated from their families, their tribes and their traditions and forced to attend government-run Indian boarding schools.

A federal Bureau of Indian Affairs officer took Spears鈥檚 maternal grandmother at just 6 years old from Arizona to the Albuquerque Indian School in New Mexico. The agency threatened the young girl鈥檚 parents with possible jail time if they did not surrender her. 

Her paternal grandmother was sent across state lines from Minnesota to Kansas, where she was forced to attend Lawrence鈥檚 infamous Haskell Indian Training School, unable to return home for nearly a decade.

After hiding from federal officers for years, agents took her maternal grandfather at 14 to Fort Wingate, Arizona and forced him to cut his hair, pray to a Christian god and speak English, though Navajo was the only language he knew at the time. The teen repeatedly tried to run away, and staff punished him by forcing him to spend days on end in the school鈥檚 basement without food. Spears鈥檚 parents shared these stories with her over the years. 

鈥淭hese legacies and these histories are so intimate to us as Native people,鈥� said Spears, who now lives in Hopkinton, Rhode Island and serves as Brown University鈥檚 . 鈥淲e carry them in our DNA.鈥�

At least 500 Indigenous children died while attending federally operated Indian boarding schools, according to a May 11 . Just 19 facilities, a small fraction of the 408 government-supported schools identified, account for that tally 鈥� meaning the death total is likely a severe undercount.

For 150 years, up until the late 1960s, the U.S. government stole Indigenous youth from their communities, often without parents鈥� consent, and sent them to Indian boarding schools where they were forced to use English names, wear Americanized haircuts and perform military drills. Many children suffered and , and an unknown number died, often . 

The long-awaited report represents the first time the federal government has attempted a systematic accounting of the facts and consequences of the Indian boarding school system it perpetuated.

鈥淚’m glad to see it on the news. I’m glad that there are people asking these questions because our Native families, our Indigenous families in this country carry these stories with them every day,鈥� Spears told 蜜桃影视. But the process is only beginning, she added. 

鈥淲e’re just learning the full scope of the truth. 鈥� People always want to jump to reconciliation and they want to skip over the truth-telling part. We need to sit in the truth for a while.鈥�

The May report represents Volume I of an investigation that Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and the agency鈥檚 first Indigenous head, unveiled in June 2021. The effort is intended to provide a basis through which the U.S. may reckon with past brutality by locating gravesites 鈥� many of them unmarked or 鈥� repatriating children鈥檚 remains and offering resources to affected families.

鈥淚t is my priority to not only give voice to the survivors and descendants of federal Indian boarding school policies, but also to address the lasting legacies of these policies so Indigenous peoples can continue to grow and heal,鈥� said the secretary, who鈥檚 own grandparents were also subjected to the boarding school system.

Indigenous scholars underscore that this first report only conveys a small fraction of the violence wrought by these schools, scores of which were operated by the Catholic Church and various Protestant groups at the government鈥檚 behest. 

鈥淏asically every school had a cemetery,鈥� Preston McBride, an Indian boarding school historian and a Comanche descendent. 鈥淭here are deaths at or deaths because of virtually every single boarding school.鈥�

鈥淭he United States doesn鈥檛 even know how many Indian students went through these institutions, let alone how many actually died in them,鈥� he added.

In his own research, he has documented over 1,000 child deaths at just four boarding schools. He estimates the toll over the entire system鈥檚 century and a half of operation may be .

The Department of Interior declined to comment on whether it believes that to be a plausible estimate, though the report鈥檚 authors note they expect 鈥渃ontinued investigation will reveal the approximate number of Indian children who died at Federal Indian boarding schools to be in the thousands or tens of thousands.鈥� 

鈥淓ach one of those individuals is a story, had a story, has a story. And each one of those individuals did not have the opportunity to continue their traditions, to continue their culture, their language, to have a family 鈥� to be able to pass down the knowledge, the practices, the language that they inherited from generations past,鈥� Samuel Torres, deputy CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, told the 74 after the investigation was first launched.

Spears said her grandparents did not talk about witnessing deaths at the boarding schools, perhaps to protect their family from that horror. 

Amazingly, her grandfather, George Kirk, who suffered deprivation and torture at the hands of the U.S. government, later went on to help the country win World War II. Kirk became a famed , one of 29 U.S. Marines whose skill at transmitting over 800 messages without error in a coded version of their native tongue proved a critical advantage to Allied forces.

鈥淭he very language he was starved for speaking, later helped save this country,鈥� Spears said.

To bring the boarding school history to light, the Interior Department鈥檚 research team is working through the review and electronic screening of roughly 500 million pages of documents held in the American Indian Records Repository in Lenexa, Kansas. 

Most of the staff who have worked on the report are themselves Indigenous, . 

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an exhausting and emotional effort for them to confront this horror on a daily basis to bring this information to you,鈥� said Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland, who led the investigation and is a member of the Ojibwe nation. 鈥淭his has left lasting scars for all Indigenous people. There鈥檚 not a single American Indian, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian in this country whose life hasn鈥檛 been affected by these schools.鈥�

As the team continues its investigation, they hope to further clarify the U.S. government鈥檚 role in supporting the Indian boarding system, determine the location of more burial grounds associated with these schools and identify the names, ages and tribal affiliations of those buried there. They have already identified over 50 marked and unmarked gravesites.

The Interior鈥檚 investigation, the beginnings of what may become a public, centralized archive, will continue with

The report follows a similarly disturbing and builds on years of Native-led activism to unearth the truth behind U.S. boarding school policies. Since its founding in 2012, the Boarding School Healing Coalition has filed for the, conducted their own, supported survivors, and led in Eastern Pennsylvania. 

鈥淚 don’t think the impact [of the Investigation] can be underestimated. This is such a big part of American history that has not been talked about,鈥� Jim Gerencser, a Dickinson College archivist who co-founded a, told 蜜桃影视 last year. Many people have reached out to him looking for in-depth archives of boarding schools, family information or sources to incorporate in their . 

Carlisle has become one of the most studied U.S. boarding school sites, in part due to its size and founder鈥檚 infamous propaganda to 鈥渒ill the Indian and save the man.鈥� The site forcibly enrolled over 10,000 children from 142 Native nations over the course of 40 years.

Spears and her husband Cassius Spears Jr. 鈥� first councilman for the Narragansett tribe and nephew of former councilwoman, Tomaquag Museum leader and educator 鈥� have worked to reclaim many of their Native ways of life for their children. Her boys grow their hair out long and have pierced ears. They teach their kids about humans鈥� relationships with plants and non-human animals. They learn words and prayers in Native languages.

鈥淚 make decisions everyday to give my children what my grandparents couldn’t have,鈥� said Spears.

Lede Image: Dan Romero or Walking Bird of the Ute Tribe encircles the graves of children with sage at Sherman Indian School Cemetery in Southern California. (Cindy Yamanaka/The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images)

鈥淲e鈥檙e not extinct,鈥� the young student ventured, nervous about contradicting the lesson, but feeling she had to speak up. 鈥淚鈥檓 a Narragansett.鈥�

No response came from her teacher or classmates, recalls the Chariho Regional School District alum, who graduated in 1986.

鈥淚t just didn’t matter,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淵ou were insignificant.鈥�

Now, decades later, Baker has two children in the same school system who have navigated similar experiences of hurt and invisibility. Sometimes, the racism has been overt, like when a classmate muttered the N-word at her daughter in middle school. But more often, it comes in the form of quiet erasure and inaccurate tropes.

鈥淚n history class, it鈥檚 mostly the history of the colonizers,鈥� said her daughter Nittaunis Baker, 19, who graduated from Chariho High School in spring 2021 and now attends the University of Rhode Island. 

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 really talk about Native people that much,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视.

Even now, as the topic of how to teach U.S. history in schools is receiving an unprecedented level of public attention, Indigenous parents say the debates still largely exclude lessons on Native people. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 [been] very Black/white centric,鈥� said Samantha Cullen-Fry, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe who has two young children in the West Warwick School District. She agrees that highlighting the Black experience is important, especially in wake of the police murder of George Floyd. But efforts to diversify K-12 curricula are incomplete, she says, if they fail to accurately teach about Native people. 

When English colonists first came to New England in the 17th century, the Narragansett people had been living in the region for some 30,000 years 鈥� making the vast majority of North American history, chronologically speaking, Indigenous history. In the following centuries, Native people have continued to live in the region.

鈥淭here is no United States history, there is no Rhode Island history, without Indigenous history,鈥� the West Warwick mother told 蜜桃影视.

Across the country, fights over critical race theory have elevated conversations over social studies curricula to the central stage in many . CRT is not an ideology, but rather a scholarly framework that views racism and inequality as ingrained in law and society. Still, in Oklahoma, a bill to restrict its teaching led to the removal of classic books such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Raisin in the Sun from reading lists, according to a recent ACLU lawsuit. In Texas, the crackdown prompted a school administrator to . 

The Ocean State has emerged as a hotbed for the controversy. Over the summer, a South Kingstown mother made national headlines for filing more than investigating if the district taught terms like 鈥渟ystemic racism,鈥� 鈥渨hite privilege鈥� or the 鈥�1619 Project.鈥� Education writer Erika Sanzi, a former Rhode Island teacher and school board member, has become and other curricular changes her group, Parents Defending Education, see as divisive.

And although Rhode Island was not one of the to enact laws restricting teaching on race and gender, a bill to do so was introduced by state legislators in spring 2021, though it failed to pass.

Its author, Rep. Patricia Morgan, did not respond to questions from 蜜桃影视 asking whether topics such as the , which took place just miles outside the Chariho school system鈥檚 present day boundaries, would be among the 鈥溾�� that the bill sought to ban. In the event, 1,000 English colonial soldiers, joined by about 150 Pequot and Mohegan soldiers, attacked and burned a Narragansett stronghold, killing hundreds, including women and children. In late October, the Rhode Island Historical Society transferred the 5-acre South Kingstown site back to the Narragansett Indian Tribe, nearly three and half centuries after the deadly event.

In Chariho schools, where more than 9 in 10 students are white, alumni of the district who are Indigenous and graduated in recent decades have recounted experiences of being by their counselors. In nearby Narragansett Regional School District, Cullen-Fry had to spend a post-grad year doing unnecessary pre-college work, she said, because her counselor did not send in her paperwork, assuming she couldn鈥檛 afford higher education. The experience, she learned later at a high school reunion, was shared by numerous peers of color.

Chariho Assistant Superintendent Michael Comella said he was not aware of Indigenous students having had issues with the district鈥檚 college counselors in the past, but mentioned that the school system is working with local Narragansett leaders to improve school policy and providing professional development sessions on equity and inclusion for teachers. He said teachers typically cover the Great Swamp Massacre in fifth grade during lessons on King Philip鈥檚 War. 

鈥淭he district remains committed to ensur[ing] that we account for all important information and history as it relates to our tribal community,鈥� he wrote in an email to 蜜桃影视.

Though there is much more work to do, the elder Baker appreciates that the Chariho district has made some efforts to better serve its Native students. The high school has a on staff and, recently, has begun engaging in conversations with Indigenous parents about further improvements.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about bashing the Chariho school district,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is about recognizing that there are issues that have affected past and present generations of Indigenous students who have attended this school system and they need to be addressed on behalf of present and future generations.鈥�

Chariho has formed an that has been meeting since the fall of 2020 in pursuit of more equitable school policies, practices and curricula. Some residents, such as the Bakers, say that the changes are sorely needed, but others staunchly oppose them.

鈥淚 do not support, at this point, the anti-racism task force,鈥� audience member Jim Sullivan said during public comment at a Nov. 9 . 鈥淚 am concerned about their bringing racism into the Chariho system.鈥�

鈥淲e are not domestic terrorists,鈥� he added, referencing escalating tensions nationwide at board meetings that recently prompted the National School Boards Association to send a letter to the White House requesting increased support and security.

The pushback does not phase endawnis Spears, who recently joined the Chariho School Committee after a member鈥檚 resignation. Spears, who does not capitalize her first name, is a member of the Navajo Nation, with ties also to the Chocktaw, Chickasaw and Ojibwe people. Diverse perspectives, she believes, are necessary to the development of all children.

鈥淚 want to ensure that teachers have everything they need to prepare their students 鈥� all of their students 鈥� to be able to navigate citizenship in the United States,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭hat includes Indigenous histories.鈥�

鈥淭he lack of nuance around Indigenous histories also is a form of erasure,鈥� she added. 鈥淚t continues the process of erasing Native people from this landscape.鈥�

Statewide, Lor茅n Spears, executive director of the Tomaquag Museum for Indigenous history, culture and arts in Exeter, Rhode Island and related to endawnis Spears by marriage, believes officials must work to better represent the state鈥檚 Native students.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been very teacher-by-teacher, the improvement, rather than the system of education improving,鈥� she said on a of the Boston Globe鈥檚 Rhode Island Report podcast. 鈥淚 would like to see, you know, the Department of Education really take an active role in ensuring that the history is inclusive and includes Native people.鈥�

State social studies standards do not stipulate that schools teach specific aspects of Native history or culture, said the Rhode Island Department of Education, instead leaving those decisions up to districts.

鈥淚f materials [that districts] use presently from a publisher do not adequately address Indigenous representation, [the state education department] would strongly encourage school leaders to develop materials they can use to meet the standards,鈥� Communications Director Victor Morente wrote in an email to 蜜桃影视.

Accurately representing Native Rhode Islanders means addressing certain truths that may be difficult, said the younger Baker. But covering those facts in schools, rather than mythologized narratives of harmony between colonists and Native people, doesn鈥檛 mean placing blame on any students, she said.

鈥淭he establishment of this country was pretty much the murder of a lot of Indigenous people, including my ancestors,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don’t think that [white] kids should feel ashamed because it’s not really them. It鈥檚 their ancestors.鈥�

It鈥檚 only shameful when students shy away from those histories, she believes. 鈥淚f they refuse to acknowledge that that happened, then you kind of become complicit in not recognizing the struggles that [Indigenous] people went through.鈥�

In school, the only time she remembers a lesson on Indigenous people was a brief mention in fifth grade around Thanksgiving. She doesn鈥檛 recall any lessons on the Great Swamp Massacre. Additionally, in high school, outside of class, she had a teacher who held a reading group focused on Native sciences, which discussed a book written by a member of the Potawatomi Nation. She enjoyed the experience, and wishes there could be official courses devoted to such topics. 

鈥淓ven having a class just on the history of Indigenous peoples, like how they have classes on ancient Greek and Roman things, that would be really cool,鈥� said the college freshman, who is studying marine biology. She receives free tuition at URI thanks to her status as a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

Teachers can cater Indigenous history and culture to learners of any age, said Cullen-Fry, who works as an educator at the Tomaquag Museum. For example, many classes visit the museum in November, Native American Heritage Month. She corrects the youngsters鈥� misconceptions about Thanksgiving, teaching them that it鈥檚 traditional in many Indigenous cultures to celebrate 13 Thanksgivings, one for each of the year鈥檚 moon cycles.

States such as Oregon have moved in recent years to require that schools teach , and to bring tribal educators .

But until such shifts, large and small, are incorporated into Rhode Island schools, the Baker family will celebrate progress on a more personal level.

When Nittaunis walked across the graduation stage in May 2021, she was adorned with tribal jewelry and ornamentation, passed down from her ancestors. Her mother, after so many of her own personal experiences of feeling that her Indigenous identity was erased by the world around her, wanted people to know: Another Indigenous child just graduated from Chariho High School.

The proud message was simple.

鈥淪ociety doesn鈥檛 think that we鈥檙e here,鈥� the elder Baker said. 鈥淲e are here.鈥�