episode 5

'Dawnland' Documentary

For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes to “save them from being Indian.” In Maine, the first official Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the United States begins a historic investigation. Dawnland goes behind-the-scenes as this historic body grapples with difficult truths, redefines reconciliation, and charts a new course for state and tribal relations. Dawnland aired on Independent Lens on PBS in November 2018 reaching more than 2 million viewers. The film won a national Emmy® Award for Outstanding Research in 2019 and made the American Library Association’s list of 2020 Notable Videos for Adults: “a list of 15 outstanding films released on video within the past two years.”

Shadows of the Sherman Institute: A Photographic History of the Indian School on Magnolia Avenue

“In this powerful work, Shadows of Sherman, the evolution of this landmark institution, the Sherman Indian High School, is presented through Lorene Sisquoc’s unparalleled lens of understanding and knowledge of the long, storied history of Sherman.” This book is co-authored by a member of our team, Dr. Cliff Trafzer, Costo Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of California, Riverside. Currently this book is available to purchase on Amazon.

American Indian Boarding School Experiences: Recent Studies from Native Perspectives

In this article, Julie Davis examines the narrative of "Indian Boarding Schools” through recent studies by David Wallace Adams, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Brenda Child, Sally Hyer, and Esther Burnett Horne. Through the use of archival research and oral interviews, Davis works to show the history of boarding schools from an American Indian perspective, in hopes that they will uncover the meaning of boarding school education for indian children, families, and communities, past and present.

NPR: American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many

Many Indian children were subjected to Indian boarding schools. Most of the children were sent to Indian boarding schools located a long distance from their homes and families. This NPR is a collective conversation that accounts and describes the generational emotional repercussions as a result of growing up in a boarding school.

St Boniface Indian Boarding School

On September 1, 1890, St. Boniface opened its doors to 125 Indian students for the first time. Located in Banning CA, St. Boniface was one of two schools in the Riverside County area. Together with Sherman Indian School in Riverside, the main focus was to assimilate Native children into Anglo society by educating the children in religion and preparing them for a life of servitude to landowners and their wives. This article discusses the foundation, evolution, and history of St. Boniface.