knicodiangelo:

lilrednacho:

starshineexx:

photosbyjaye:

This is probably one of the most depressingly heart-wrenching photos I’ve ever seen. Native American children taken from their families and put into school to assimilate them into white society. the slogan for this governmental campaign ’“kill the Indian to save the man”. no official apology has ever been issued. never forgotten.

This is why we keep talking. Every child in this photo deserves to be talked about. The children grew up to be adults… adults who suffer from mental illnesses and a lack of connection to a culture/people that never wanted them to leave. These scars are passed down from generation to generation… and in reality the above picture is closer to present times than many would like to admit.

The amount of inter generational trauma from these schools ALONE has caused so much fuckery amongst native peoples.

And barely anybody understands it’s impact because the school systems don’t teach you this forced assimilation.

in canada these are known as residential schools, and since i started high school they’ve been discussed in multiple different classes ive taken. the last canadian residential school closed in 1996, if that puts it more into perspective. also yes, the canadian government has apologized for them.

the middle school i went to was (on the site of) an old residential school