Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) is the first and only national organization whose purpose is to advocate on behalf of Native peoples impacted by U.S. Indian boarding school policies. We seek truth through education and research, justice through activism and policy advocacy, and healing through programs and traditional gatherings.

NABS was created to develop and implement a national strategy that increases public awareness and cultivates healing for the profound trauma experienced by individuals, families, communities, American Indian and Alaska Native Nations resulting from the policy adopted in 1869 by the U.S. federal government that supported the building and operating of government and church-run Indian boarding schools.

Our mission is to lead in the pursuit of understanding and addressing the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Boarding School policy

List of Indian Boarding Schools in the United States

In February 2025, NABS released its latest research identifying 526 Indian boarding schools in the United States. This is the largest known list of U.S. Indian boarding schools ever compiled to date. See the full list here.

Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act

For over 150 years, hundreds of thousands of Native children were taken from their families and forced to attend government- and church-run Indian boarding schools. These institutions were tools of colonization and assimilation, causing loss of language, culture, land, and family connection. Survivors have reported widespread physical, sexual, emotional, and spiritual abuse, while many children died, went missing, or were killed—unable to share their stories.

We must uncover:

1. How many Native children were forced into these schools;

2. How many were abused, died, or disappeared; and

3. The lasting impacts on Native children, families, and communities.

Understanding the full scope of this legacy is crucial. Tribal Nations and citizens deserve truth and justice for the intergenerational trauma caused by these federal policies.

Learn more at: https://boardingschoolhealing.org/truthandhealingbill

WHY A TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION IS NEEDED 

A federal commission is urgently needed to locate and examine records from the 526 known Indian boarding schools in the U.S., many of which were federally funded. These records—scattered across various institutions—could take years to compile. The commission would also bring together survivors, Tribal leaders, and experts to fully understand and acknowledge the lasting impacts of the federal policy of forcibly removing Native children.

As seen in Canada, the truth about boarding schools will surface, but time is running out to hear directly from survivors. A Congressional commission would preserve their stories and ensure that this history is not forgotten.

 It is essential that our children who were forced to attend these schools are not forgotten, and that this assimilative era of U.S. Indian policy is acknowledged so that future generations may understand the impact that this trauma has had in their community. Ultimately, we must know the truth so that we ensure that this never happens again. 

This bipartisan bill: 

• Is supported by various faith-based community groups, organizations, and Tribes. 
• Creates a commission to investigate the Indian boarding school era. 
• Locates Native American children and records. 
• Uplifts the voices of Indian boarding school Survivors. 
• Seeks Truth, Justice, and Healing for all Americans. 
• Will make recommendations to Congress. 
• Make a final report publicly available

Your year-end gift will help:

• Support healing resources for survivors

• Sustain vital educational and advocacy initiatives

• Continue important research efforts

Will you consider making a gift to NABS to help us continue this critical work?

Let this be more than a moment. Let it be a movement.

Miigwech - Wado - Wopila Tonka - ʉra - Kúdaawóháa - Piwadaye - t’igwicid - Tlazohkamati - ahéhee - Hy'shqe

Thank You