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JUNE 1, 2022
Smoke Signals
Grand Ronde Boarding School closed in 1908
SCHOOL continued
from front page
religious institutions and organiza-
tions in participating in the Indian
boarding school system and how
they were often paid on a per pupil
basis to “civilize” Native American
youth out of the Civilization Fund
that was allocated federal funding
from 1819 through 1873.
“The Grand Ronde School, which
was day-only in the beginning, func-
tioned on the Grand Ronde Agency
beginning in the 1860s or 1870s,”
the boarding school list states. “For
much of its existence, it was run
in cooperation with the Catholic
Church. Location is approximate
and is at Grand Ronde sub-agency.”
The Grand Ronde Boarding
School closed in 1908.
The eight other Indian boarding
schools identified in Oregon included
the Forest Grove Indian Training
School (1880-85), which became Che-
mawa Indian School (1885-present)
in Salem; the Kate Drexel Indus-
trial Boarding School (1847-1929)
in Pendleton; the Klamath Agency
Boarding School (1874-1927) in Chil-
oquin; the Siletz Boarding School
(1873-1919) in Siletz; the Simnasho
Boarding and Day School (1882-96)
in Simnasho; the Umatilla Boarding
and Day School (1883-1918) in Pend-
leton; the Warm Springs Boarding
and Day School (1884-1951) in Warm
Springs; and the Yainax Indian
Boarding School (1882-1916) in Be-
atty, which is located northeast of
Klamath Falls.
Federal Indian boarding school
policies resulted in the twin goals
of cultural assimilation and terri-
torial dispossession of Indigenous
peoples through the forced removal
and relocation of Tribal children, an
Interior news release says.
Through treaties and other agree-
ments, Tribes ceded approximately
1 billion acres to the United States
in exchange for such things as
health care and education.
In addition to compiling a list of
Indian boarding schools, the inves-
Smoke Signals file photo
According to a list of Indian boarding schools compiled by the U.S.
Department of the Interior, the Grand Ronde Boarding School opened in
1862 and closed in 1908. For much of its existence, it was run in conjunction
with the Catholic Church. It was still in operation when this photo of the
Grand Ronde Agency was taken around 1890.
is my priority to not only give voice
to the survivors and descendants
of federal Indian boarding school
policies, but also to address the
lasting legacies of these policies so
Indigenous peoples can continue to
grow and heal.”
Haaland said the Department of
the Interior will launch a year-long
“Road to Healing” tour that will
include stops across the country
to allow American Indian, Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian sur-
vivors of the federal Indian board-
ing school system to share their
stories, help connect communities
with trauma-informed support and
collect a permanent oral history.
According to the Department
of the Interior, “There is ample
evidence in federal records demon-
strating that the United States co-
erced, induced or compelled Indian
children to enter the federal Indian
boarding school system.”
The investigative report high-
lights some of the harsh conditions
that children endured in the board-
ing schools, which used systematic
militarized and identity-alteration
methods in an attempt to assimilate
Native American youths. Children
were given English names, forced to
have their hair cut, discouraged or
prevented from using their Native
languages or practicing their reli-
gions or cultural customs, and were
organized into units to perform
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CTGRsmokesignals
tigation also identified marked or
unmarked burial sites at approxi-
mately 53 different schools across
the boarding school system. “As
the investigation continues, the
department expects the number of
identified burial sites to increase,”
the news release says.
Although the report declined to
identify where the burial sites are
located, it has already been widely
reported that burial sites have been
found at Chemawa Indian School
in Salem.
The investigation’s initial anal-
ysis also estimates that 19 federal
Indian boarding schools accounted
for more than 500 child deaths. The
Interior Department expects that
number to increase as well.
“The consequences of federal
Indian boarding school policies –
including the intergenerational
trauma caused by the family sep-
aration and cultural eradication
inflicted upon generations of chil-
dren as young as 4 years old – are
heartbreaking and undeniable,”
Haaland said.
“We continue to see the evidence
of this attempt to forcibly assimi-
late Indigenous people in the dis-
parities that communities face. It
N
Umatilla Boarding
and Day School
Forest Grove Indian
Training School
Pendelton, 1883-1918
Forest Grove, 1880-1885
Grand Ronde
Boarding School
Grand Ronde,1862-1908
Kate Drexel Industrial
Boarding School
Warm Springs Boarding
and Day School
Chemawa
Indian School
Siletz,1873-1919
Simnasho Boarding
and Day School
26
Simnasho, 1882-1896
20
101
OREGON
INDIAN
BOARDING
SCHOOLS
Pendelton, 1847-1929
Warm Springs, 1884-1951
Salem, 1885 - Present
Siletz Boarding
School
military drills.
Punishment often included solitary
confinement, flogging, withholding
food, whipping, slapping and cuffing.
Older Native children were often
forced to punish younger children
in a court martial-like setting. Run-
aways at the Kickapoo Boarding
School in Kansas received whippings
upon their return that were admin-
istered “soundly and prayerfully.”
Native children also were taken
advantage of, having to perform
manual labor and taught vocational
skills that were often irrelevant to
the industrial U.S. economy.
Living conditions also were intol-
erable with Native children often
sleeping two or three children to
a bed, toilet facilities that were
not expanded proportionally to the
increase in students, and diets con-
sisting mostly of starch and sugar
and low in fresh fruits and vegeta-
bles. Survivors of the system were
more likely to have cancer, tuber-
culosis, high cholesterol, diabetes,
anemia, arthritis and gall bladder
disease than non-attendees upon
reaching adulthood.
The investigative report also
identifies next steps that will be
taken in a second volume that is
being funded by a new $7 million
investment from Congress through
fiscal year 2022.
Next steps include creating a list
of marked and unmarked burial
sites at federal Indian boarding
school locations, approximating
how much federal funding was al-
located to support the Indian board-
ing school system, and further
investigation into the legacy effects
of the school system on Indigenous
peoples today.
In addition to the 408 federal
Indian boarding schools, the Inte-
rior investigation also identified
more than 1,000 other federal and
non-federal institutions, including
Indian day schools, sanitariums,
asylums, orphanages and stand-
alone dormitories that may have
been involved in the education of
mainly Native American children. 
Klamath Agency
Boarding School
Chiloquin, 1874-1927
Yainax Indian
Boarding School
Beatty, 1882-1916
Map created by Samuel Briggs III