On July 15, 2021, the Rosebud Sioux Youth Council was welcomed to the Meskwaki Settlement in Iowa on their journey to repatriation and healing. The Rosebud Sioux Nation has worked for over 140 years to reclaim the remains of nine children who were forced to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial (Boarding) Schools located in Pennsylvania. Last week, with the support of the Tribal Council and members of their Tribe, Rosebud Sioux youth organized and led the long journey to and from Carlisle Indian Industrial School to finally allow their ancestors to be reunited with their families at their final resting place in Rosebud, South Dakota.

Elleh Driscoll (Meskwaki, Winnebago), Keely Driscoll (Meskwaki, Winnebago), and Teresa Brewington (Coharie, Lumbee), all who are employees of the Native Center for Behavioral Health at the University of Iowa, were part of the community effort contributing to this historic event. Hundreds of members of the Meskwaki Nation came together to organize a heartfelt welcome with an abundance of food, blessings, prayers, songs, as well as gifts and provisions for the travelers and the children. This community effort was a way to thank the youth, pray for their safe travel, and honor the nine children whose remains were recovered from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Mike Stacey, a member of the Meskwaki Tribe, was one of several bikers who greeted the Rosebud Sioux youth in Iowa City and escorted them to the Meskwaki Settlement. Mr. Stacey said this experience has been indescribable as he was filled with emotions of joy, healing, and sadness. He added, “One hundred and forty years sounds like a long time ago, but it doesn’t feel like it, as we still remember; we still mourn and are still healing, and today was a small victory for all Native people, as we are all related.”

“…when one rises, we all rise.”

-Christopher Eagle Bear, Rosebud Sioux Youth (Meskwaki Settlement, July 15th, 2021)

The impact of residential schools on First Nations people is finally being brought to light as their burial sites across Canada and the United States continue to be uncovered. In the United States, repatriation efforts have been few and far between. The actions of the Rosebud Sioux Nation have paved the way for endeavors such as the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative now being launched by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. This is giving our Native Nations across Turtle Island hope for healing.

After the “Indian Wars” era, the government initiated this genocidal tactic of assimilation. From the 1860s, “Indian Boarding Schools” established by the United States government became places in which forced assimilation was to be carried out on Native American children. Children as young as five years old were forced to attend boarding school institutions thousands of miles from home.

Upon arrival, their hair was cut, their clothes were burned, and they were severely punished for speaking their language or practicing their cultures. They were expected to completely assimilate to a Euro-American way of life through speaking English, learning how to do manual jobs, and practicing Christianity. The message of these schools was to, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” These schools instilled shame and hate for Native culture and identity in young Native children, alienating them from their families upon returning home at 18. Many students reported rampant verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Investigation and research into the schools has shown that the overcrowding, illness, abuse, and poor diets led to the deaths or disappearance of thousands of Native children across the United States and Canada.

Tribal Nations across the Turtle Island are still working through the trauma of the stolen children, and the effects of Native boarding schools. The last assimilating boarding school did not close until 1997, and many Tribal members today continue to remember their childhood that was taken from them in these schools. We at the Native Center for Behavioral Health recognize the long-overdue work ahead in bringing awareness to mainstream society about Native American history and trauma in the U.S. and healing to Native communities.

We thank the brave Rosebud-Sioux youth and their Tribal Nation who have worked tirelessly to bring their children home. We remember all the children who were hidden, buried without a name, or lost. Each and every one of them are dearly missed and they will never be forgotten. All Native communities continue to feel the impact of these genocidal schools. Throughout the week of the Rosebud Sioux Repatriation, the Meskwaki, Winnebago, and numerous other Nations have gathered to give strength to the Rosebud Sioux Nation as they bring their stolen children home.

These are the names of the nine children who are finally at peace in their homelands one hundred forty-one years and five months after they left:

• Lucy Take the Tail (Pretty Eagle)
• Rose Long Face (Little Hawk)
• Ernest Knocks Off (White Thunder)
• Dennis Strikes First (Blue Tomahawk)
• Maud Little Girl (Swift Bear)
• Friend Hollow Horn Bear
• Warren Painter (Bear Paints Dirt)
• Alvan (Kills Seven Horses)
• Dora Her Pipe (Brave Bull)

And we honor all of those who have yet to be found.

Never forgotten,

The Native Center for Behavioral Health

Resources about Native Boarding Schools:

Kill the Indian, Save the Man, written by Ward Churchill

We Were Children, directed by Tim Wolochatiuk

Rabbit Proof Fence, directed by Phillip Noyce