A new report by a nonprofit that researches Native American boarding schools in the United States has found an additional 115 schools to add to its list, including dozens located in Four Corners tribal communities. The findings by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, or NABS, have identified more boarding schools used for the cultural erasure of Native American children, like those located on the Navajo Nation. Many of these schools weren’t fully supported at the federal level but were instead operated by religious institutions like the Catholic and Mormon churches. The NABS report builds off of a list initially compiled by a federal agency in 2022. Carl Slater is a Navajo Nation council delegate who represents five chapter houses in the Chinle Agency.
Chris Clements is a former news reporter for KSJD. He had previously covered literary arts as a reporter for The Chautauquan Daily in Chautauqua, New York, and graduated with a degree in English from Arizona State University. At KSJD, Chris has collaborated with KUNC (northern Colorado NPR) on water conservation stories, and had his spots regularly featured on NPR's national newscasts.