GEOFF BENNETT: For the
first time, the U.S.
government released a
report this month detailing
the abuse and mistreatment
of native children who
were forcibly sent to
boarding schools in the
1800s. Our St. Louis
Community reporter, Gabrielle
Hays has been reporting
on one school in Missouri,
that fits into this
painful history. And
Gabrielle joins us now.
So tell us more about
this boarding school,
the St. Regis Seminary
opened in 1824. What did
your reporting uncover?
GABRIELLE HAYS: Yeah, so we
learned at this school, as
you said, opened in 1824.
And it later closed in
1831. So it wasn't open for
that long. Well, we do know
is that, you know, what
was promised, the idea
from the beginning was
that these schools were,
"going to provide an
education." But the research
shows what's reflected in this
report from the Department of
Interior, which is that that
wasn't that the case that these
children were specifically at
St. Regis worked long hours in
fields, they did manual labor.
And now also, many of them
were also abused physically,
violence, there was violence in
these schools, and then one
here, Missouri, and so we kind
of work to piece together what
happened in those seven years,
as much as we could, and for
the most part from letters.
GEOFF BENNETT: And this
was a Jesuit school.
So how have the Jesuits
responded? And how are they
reconciling with their past?
GABRIELLE HAYS: Yeah, so it was
the Society of Jesus, that open
this school, and they actually
opened more than one across the
parts of the country. And so
we've been in communication with
the Jesuits. And we know that
they released a statement, I
believe, last year, kind of
acknowledging what happened
at these schools. But
recently, more recently,
I believe in January,
they brought in a researcher
that's going to be based here
in St. Louis. And that person
is supposed to take a
look at the history, the
Jesuits involvement and
kind of piece together
that story. And so we've worked
with them in some of that work,
but it will be important to see
what they are able to uncover
and sort of release because
we were able to piece together
the story through records
and things that they kept.
And so we're waiting to kind
of see what else they have
and what else we can learn.
GEOFF BENNETT: So put this
into the larger context
for us, because the
Department of the Interior,
as you will know, it says
Native American children are
forced into assimilation at 408
boarding schools, federal
boarding schools in the
19th and 20th centuries.
GABRIELLE HAYS: Yeah.
And I think it's
important also to note,
that report makes it clear
that there are 408 that they
have included, but that number
could possibly grow. And so I
think that that's important.
You know, in reading that
report, it was so striking
because so many of the things
that we were able to uncover,
whether it was assimilation
tactics, or the promises that
were made or the experience of
the children, or some of the
language that that was used in
these letters to justify
what happened at the
schools. We could see
the reading that letter,
reading that report that
would happen in St. Louis,
would happen in Florissant,
it wasn't just our story,
it was a story that happened
across several states.
And so it's -- St Louis
has a chapter but it's
a much bigger story.
GEOFF BENNETT: Our St. Louis
Community Reporter Gabrielle
Hays. Gabby, thanks so
much for being with us.
GABRIELLE HAYS: Thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: And you can
read Gabrielle's full story,
her brilliant reporting on
our website pbs.org/news hour.