A report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior earlier this month showed that between 1819 and 1969, Native children in 408 federal Native boarding schools in the United States suffered from abuses such as flogging, forced labor, and at least 500 native children. Resident children died as a result of abuse.

  That number is expected to run into the thousands or even tens of thousands as investigations continue.

Until now, the U.S. government has never stated how many Indigenous children were forcibly sent to such boarding schools, how many died or went missing, or even how many such boarding schools existed.

  This Native boarding school in St. Louis, Missouri, USA was established in 1824 and closed in 1831.

Although the school was only open for a short period of time, it left many Aboriginal children with lifelong trauma.

  PBS reporter Gabrielle Hayes: The Aboriginal children in this school work the fields for hours and do manual labor.

Many of them were also beaten and violence was rampant in the school.

We basically learned by letter, little by little, what happened to this school in Missouri during those seven years.

  Gabrielle Hayes said the investigation into what happened to Aboriginal children at the boarding school was continuing.

Across America, this boarding school's misdeeds are by no means unique.

  PBS reporter Gabrielle Hayes: After reading the report (issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior), I was shocked.

Because what is revealed in the report, whether it's the assimilation policy, the original promise of boarding schools, or the mistreatment of Native children, shows that this story is not an isolated case, but has occurred in many states across the United States.

The city of St. Louis is just one chapter, the whole story is very, very long.

  According to an investigation report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior on the 11th, Native American boarding schools were modeled after military schools and implemented strict militarized management.

Schools force Aboriginal children to take English names, cut their hair short, wear military or other uniforms, and prohibit them from using tribal languages ​​or participating in tribal traditional activities.

In addition, the report noted that various forms of corporal punishment and abuse, such as solitary confinement, whipping, fasting, and slapping, were frequently used in boarding schools.

  Assistant Secretary of the Interior Brian Newland: This report confirms that boarding schools are part of a dual policy (to Natives) in the United States, which is to dispossess Natives of their land and to implement a policy of assimilation to Natives.

  James LaBelle, Member of the National Native Residential School Healing Coalition: I was in boarding school for ten years, I enrolled at eight and my brother enrolled at six.

The school taught us European and American history as well as English, mathematics, science.

But as an Aboriginal, I don't know anything about myself.

After graduation, I didn't know who I was.

  Source: Weibo@小阳video, CCTV news client