From 1819 through the 1970s, the U.S. government removed Native American children from their homes. Tens of thousands of kids, preschoolers to teenagers, from tribes across the country, grew up in boarding schools, including several in the Pacific Northwest. The institutions were part of a colonialist project of forced assimilation to white culture, where expressions of Indigeneity were forbidden and punished.

The true stories of these schools and what happened there have long been obscured. Klamath tribal member Gabriann “Abby” Hall is working hard to change that. As part of a yearslong research project about Oregon’s Native American boarding school history, she documented how generations of her own relatives, and more than 500 Klamath tribal members, had attended boarding schools. In collaboration with OPB’s “Oregon Experience” writer and producer Kami Horton, Hall uncovered dark histories of boarding school experiences that affected so many Native American families. Within them, she sees stories of strength, resistance and survival that she hopes can empower younger generations working to keep their Indigenous culture alive today.

Watch Kami Horton’s documentary for OPB’s “Oregon Experience,” “Uncovering Boarding Schools: Stories of Resistance and Resilience,” on the PBS app and website.

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