Eureka Springs United Women in Faith (UWFaith) recently hosted two showings of the Dawnland documentary film that the organization’s president, Lynn Baker, said is an important step in understanding the tragedy of Native American children stolen from their homes to be sent to boarding schools to erase their cultural identity and force them to assimilate into white culture.
“With our racial justice focus, our organization determined that it was important to show this movie that highlights the unprecedented investigation begun in Maine with the first official Truth and Reconciliation Commission addressing the harm done to thousands of Native American children who were forcibly taken from their homes and forced to attend boarding schools where officials attempted to erase the culture of the Native Americans and coerce them to adopt Christianity. From 1860 until 1978, there were more than 350 boarding schools that operated in 30 states housing more than 60,000 Native American children.”
Several of the local members got to view the film a year ago. Baker said they were so impacted by it they felt a need to share the information more broadly. Baker previously serviced on the national board of directors for UWFaith and became close friends with another board member who is Navajo.
“She has shared from her heart the plight of the Native American children who were taken from their families, taken off the reservations, and moved thousands of miles and forced into boarding schools to erase their Indianness,” Baker said. “Our national history is extremely embarrassing regarding Native Americans. Dawnland highlighted what happened, and how the people who experienced those boarding schools have handled their lives since. It devastated their trust in the government and relationships.”
It has also been discovered that many of the Native American children at the boarding schools in both the U.S. and Canada were mentally, physically and sexually abused. Discoveries of unmarked mass graves near schools in Canada have led to suspicions that some of the children had been murdered.
This week Pope Francis is visiting in Canada where he has apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in residential schools. The Vatican has called the trip a “penitential pilgrimage.”
Baker said one fallout that continues today is the suspicion of the government, including health systems. The Navajo friend shared that Native Americans have had much higher rates of Covid infections and deaths. Government research has shown American Indian and Alaska Native people were 1.6 times more likely to have a Covid infection, 3.3 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 2.2 times more likely to die as a result of Covid-19 than whites.
The documentary was filmed in Maine, where natives there were called “people of the dawn” because that is the first place the sun shows up in the U.S. Baker said several more states are planning actions similar to Maine.
An important part of the work of UWFaith is urging people to support bills in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, HB 5444 and SB 2907, both named the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Policies Act. Both bills were reviewed in June and have been referred to committees.
Baker said one of the reasons UWFaith has become very interested in this issue, in addition to wanting to promote racial justice, is the fact that so many faith-based organizations were involved in those boarding schools. “So, it is important for us to know the history, know what is being done now, learn what we can do, and be aware of how it has affected the Native American families and lives through the generations,” she said. “The movie brought out that we need to hear their stories. Just as we learned from the people who came here after Hurricane Katrina, we need to listen to their stories. But Native Americans have often not shared their stories except among their own circles because the pain was so great.”
“We believe love in action can change the world,” Baker said. “UWFaith is an organization of about 800,000 worldwide, so we have a lot of international outreaches. In addition to racial justice, our other priority issue right now-–which is interrelated—is climate justice. The focus is on health and wholeness for women, children and youth. We realize that climate change impacts women, children and youth worldwide more than other folks. Climate justice is critical. We try to work locally, as well on the state, national and international levels.”
One person who watched the documentary was a man in his 90s who experienced one of the boarding schools. There were two local UWFaith members attending who have native heritage.
“They participated and were there,” Baker said. “We also highlighted the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville and the national Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.”
In addition to educating people about the treatment of the Native American children, UWFaith is working to get people to act by contacting their congressional representatives to pass the bills before Congress. A third goal is to advocate for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be established in Arkansas or in conjunction with Oklahoma.