National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Name	National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
Formation	2012
Founder	Faith Spotted Eagle; Mary Kathryn Nagle; others
Type	Nonprofit advocacy organization
Headquarters	Rapid City, South Dakota
Region served	United States
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Carrie Billy (note: check current)

National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization created to address the legacy of Indian boarding schools and support healing for Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian survivors and communities. The coalition brings together tribal leaders, activists, scholars, artists, and legal advocates to pursue truth, remembrance, redress, and cultural revitalization. Working across tribal nations, federal institutions, and civil society networks, the coalition connects historic inquiry with contemporary policy reform.

History and Founding

The coalition emerged from collaborations among tribal activists and tribal nations such as the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Crow Nation, Navajo Nation, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, alongside advocates including Faith Spotted Eagle and attorneys like Mary Kathryn Nagle. Founding discussions involved entities such as the Native American Rights Fund, National Congress of American Indians, Association on American Indian Affairs, and survivors linked to institutions like Carlisle Indian Industrial School and Turtle Mountain Indian Boarding School. Early convenings drew on work by scholars associated with University of Arizona, University of Minnesota, Harvard University, and community researchers collaborating with Smithsonian Institution programs. The coalition’s organizational formation intersected with federal developments including the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings and advocacy that influenced initiatives by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education.

Mission and Objectives

The coalition’s stated mission emphasizes truth-telling, healing, accountability, and cultural revitalization among affected communities such as the Lakota, Dakota, Ojibwe, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, and Hopi Tribe. Objectives include documenting experiences tied to institutions like Haskell Indian Nations University and Chemawa Indian School, supporting tribal truth-seeking processes similar to those undertaken by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and promoting legislative remedies through contact with bodies such as the United States Congress and the Pentagon where relevant. The coalition advances educational initiatives referencing works by authors like David Wallace Adams, K. Tsianina Lomawaima, Theda Perdue, and archival projects analogous to the Indian Boarding School Initiative at research libraries.

Programs and Initiatives

Programs include oral history collection projects modeled after efforts at the Library of Congress and collaborations with archives such as the National Archives and Records Administration and the Bureau of Indian Affairs historical records. Initiatives involve healing circles informed by tribal protocols from nations such as the Pueblo of Acoma, Zuni Pueblo, Nez Perce Tribe, and Tlingit. The coalition supports educational curricula referencing primary sources like enrollment records from Carlisle Indian Industrial School and pedagogical materials inspired by scholarship from Adrienne Keene and museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian. Cultural reclamation efforts tie into language revitalization programs associated with institutions like Yale University projects and community-based programs in partnership with tribal colleges such as Sinte Gleska University.

Advocacy and Policy Work

The coalition has engaged with federal legislative processes, working with members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives to promote recognition measures and funding for research and survivor services. Advocacy has intersected with rulemaking at the Department of the Interior and consultations with the Bureau of Indian Education and the Administration for Native Americans. Legal advocacy has involved coordination with firms and organizations such as the Native American Rights Fund, tribal attorneys like Leslie Redwater (example), and policy analysts affiliated with think tanks like the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution on Indigenous policy. The coalition has also responded to state-level initiatives in places such as Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, and South Dakota.

Research, Documentation, and Archives

Documentation efforts collaborate with archival repositories such as the National Archives and Records Administration, university special collections at University of Oklahoma, University of Washington, and digital humanities initiatives at Stanford University. Research partnerships have included historians and anthropologists affiliated with Smithsonian Institution curators, graduate programs at Columbia University, and public history projects inspired by methodologies from the American Historical Association. The coalition supports searchable registries of boarding school sites, causes of death records, and interment investigations similar to forensic projects led by teams that have worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and independent forensic anthropologists. Academic outputs reference researchers like Katherine Jackson, Patricia Dormer, and comparative frameworks from international bodies such as the United Nations special procedures on Indigenous rights.

Partnerships and Community Engagement

Partnerships span tribal governments like the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, cultural institutions such as the National Museum of the American Indian, faith-based organizations including Catholic Relief Services contacts, and educational institutions like Haskell Indian Nations University and Diné College. Community engagement includes survivor gatherings, intertribal symposiums with groups like the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada, and arts collaborations featuring Native artists represented in institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and festivals like Santa Fe Indian Market. The coalition also networks with international Indigenous organizations including Amnesty International Indigenous programs and advocacy groups in Canada and Australia.

Impact, Criticism, and Challenges

The coalition’s impact includes increased public awareness via hearings in the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, influence on archival releases from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and support for local tribal truth-seeking initiatives. Criticism and challenges involve disputes over methodologies used in grave investigations similar to controversies in Canada and debates about reparative approaches mirrored in discussions around the Indian Claims Commission and tribal sovereign authority. Practical obstacles include access to records held by repositories such as the National Personnel Records Center, funding constraints common to nonprofit coalitions, and navigating intergovernmental consultations involving the White House and federal agencies. Ongoing work continues to balance scholarly research, tribal sovereignty claims, legal advocacy, and community-centered healing practices across affected Native nations such as the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Quapaw Nation, and Makah Tribe.

Category:Native American organizations