Native American boarding schools in the US, by the numbers

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the United States government and Christian denominations operated boarding schools where generations of Native American children were isolated from their families. Along with academics and hard work, the schools sought to erase elements of tribal identity, from language and clothing to hairstyles and even their names.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where the remains of 17 students were exhumed and repatriated in recent weeks, served as a model for other schools.

By the Numbers:

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Number of schools: 526

An Interior Department review published in 2024 found 417 federally funded boarding schools for Native children in the United States. Many others were run by religious groups and other organizations.

Burial sites: 74 (53 marked, 21 unmarked)

An “incomplete” number of burial sites, at 65 schools, identified by the Interior Department across the federal boarding school system.

Treaties: 127

Number of treaties between the U.S. government and Native American tribes that implicate the federal boarding school program, reflecting its significance to westward expansion.

Costs: $23.3 billion

Amount the U.S. government authorized to run the schools and pursue related policies, in inflation adjusted dollars, 1871-1969.

Years of operation: 39

Carlisle Indian Industrial School operated from 1879 to 1918.

Enrollment: 7,800

Children and young adults enrolled at Carlisle over four decades, from more than 100 tribes.

Petitioners: 276

Number of students who signed a petition in 1913 asking for an investigation into conditions at Carlisle.

Deaths at Carlisle: 230+

Deaths among students enrolled at Carlisle.

Deaths around the nation: 973

Deaths among students at government run boarding schools in the U.S., according to the Interior Department report. A review by The Washington Post last year documented about 3,100. Researchers say the actual number was much higher.

Bodies sent home: 58

Indigenous students repatriated from the Carlisle Barracks cemetery since exhumations began in 2017, leaving 118 graves with Native American or Alaska Native names. About 20 more contain unidentified Indigenous children.

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Sources: National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition; “Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Indigenous Histories, Memories and Reclamations”; U.S. Army; “Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, Volume 2″