GOVERNMENT SENT NATIVE AMERICAN

CHILDREN TO REMOTE SO-CALLED

"BOARDING SCHOOLS," AS PART OF A

SYSTEMATIC EFFORT TO SEIZE

TRIBAL LANDS AND ERADICATE

NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE.

DOZENS OF THESE BOARDING SCHOOLS

WERE RUN BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

OR ITS AFFILIATES.

A NEW WAWAINGTON POST

INVESTIGATION HAS REVEALED

WIDESPREAD SEXUAL ABUSE OF

GENERATIONS OF THESE CHILDREN AT

MANY AT THOSE INSTITUTIONS.

LISA DESJARDINS HAS THE STORY

AND A WARNING, THIS STORY

CONTAINS SENSITIVE SUBJECT

MATERIAL.

LISA: GEOFF, THIS REPORT

DOCUMENTS THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF

MORE THAN 1000 CHILDREN, BY OVER

100 PRIESTS, SISTERS, AND

BROTHERS, BUT EXPERTS BELIEVE

THAT NUMBER IS LIKELY A

SIGNIFICANT UNDERCOUNT.

EARLIER TODAY, WE SPOKE WITH

DEBORAH PARKER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

OF THE NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN

BOARDING SCHOOL HEALING

COALITION.

DEBORAH: FOR US, THIS IS A

NATIONAL CRIME SCENE AND OUR

NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIVES

DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH.

LISA: FOR MORE, WE ARE JOINED BY

DANA WHO WAS PART OF THE TEAM

THAT REPORTED THIS STORY AND IS

A MEMBER OF A TRIBE ORTH

CAROLINA.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING

US.

CAN YOU HELP OUR VIEWERS

UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE OF THE

ABUSE THAT YOU UNCOVERED?

DANA: THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT

TOPIC AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF

WORK ALREADY DONE ON THIS.

WE HOPE TO MOVE THE BALL FORWARD

AND SHED NEWEWAW -- SHED NEW

LIGHT ON IT.

IT GAVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE

LEVEL OF SEXUAL ABUSE THAT WAS

DONE BY CATHOLIC PRIESTS,

SISTERS, AND BROTHERS FROM THE

1800S TO THE 1900S AT SCHOOLS.

MOST OF THE ABUSE OCCURRED IN

THE 1950'S AND 1960'S AND

INVOLVED 1000 CHILDREN.

AND EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THAHAIS

REALLY ONLY THE TIP OF THE

ICEBERG, THAT THE ABUSE WAS MORE

WIDESPREAD, DEEPER THAN PROBABLY

THEY FOUND BUT DOCUMENTS ARE

INCONSISTENT AND INCOMPLETE AND

THAT IS WHAT WE FOUND IN OUR

INVESTIGATATN.

LISA: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT BOYS

AND GIRLS.

SOME GENERATIONS AT THE SAME

SCHOOL BY MUMUIPLE ABUSERS.

DEBORAH PARKER ALSO SPOKE TO US

ABOUT WHY SOME OF THOSE

SURVIVORS STAYED SILENT SO LONG.

DANA: MANY O OF THESE BOARDING

SCHOOLS SURVIVORS WERE TOLD THAT

IF THEY TELL ANYONE THAT THEY

WOULD BE -- THEY WOULD BE HURT

AND THAT GOD WOULD NOT LOVE THEM

OR THAT THEY WOULD ACTUALLY GO

TO HELL.

THERE IS A GREAT FEAR OF TELLING

THIS STORY.

LISA: THIS SPEAKS TO THE EVILS

OF THIS KIND OF ABUSE.

I HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT

CATHOLIC ABUSIVE CHILDREN FOR

DECADES NOW.

WHY DO YOU THINK IT HAS TAKEN SO

LONG TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT

HAPPENED IN NATIVE LAND?

DANA: NATIVE AMERICANS KNOW

THESE STORIES.

THEY HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN.

PEOPLE KNOW THESE STORIES.

IT IS NOT A NEW HISTORY.

IT IS A PAINFUL HISTORY THAT HAS

BEEN RECOGNIZED, PROBABLY ONE OF

THE BEST REASONS IS COMING MORE

TO LIGHT NOW IN MORE RECENT

TIMES AND IS TWOFOLD.

ONE IN THE EARLY 2000, THE

BOSTON GLOBE DID A GREAT WORK OF

EXPOSING THE ABUSE THAT WAS

HAPPENING THERE SO THAT

SHOULD--SHOWED PEOPLE THAT

PEOPLE COULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

AND THAT WAS VERY MUCH A A RNING

POINT FOR NATIVE AMERICANS.

THESE WERE YOUNG CHILDREN AND

THEY DID NOT KNOW AT THE TIME OR

UNDERSTAND THAT THEY WERE BEING

ABUSED AND THE WAY ABUSE

HAPPENS, UNFORTUNATELY, IT TAKES

SO LONG TO PROCESS.

IT IS PAINFUL.

PEOPLE REPRESS THOSE THINGS AND

ONLY AS THEY BECAME ADULTS DID

THEY UNDERSTAND AND FEEL MORE

COMFORTABLE WITH COMING FORWARD.

LISA: THERE ARE SO MANY GUT

WRENCHING STORIES THAT ARE

IMPORTANT TO TELL BUT COULD ONE

SAND OUT OF A PERSON OR FAMILY

THAT YOU THINK VIEWERS SHOULD BE

AWARE OF?

DANA: CLARIDA VARGAS WENT TO A

CATHOLIC RUN SCHOOL IN

WASHINGTON AND SHE CAME FORORRD

AND SHE WAS ONE OF SEVERAL DOZEN

VICTIMS IN A LARGE LAWSUIT THAT

EVENTUALLY GOT SETTLED BUT WHAT

REALLY STANDS OUT OF HER STORY

IS THE LAWYERS NOTICED RIGHT

AWAY THE MOVIE NIGHTS, AS THEY

ALWAYS CALLED IT.

SHE WENT THERE WHEN SHE WAS A

YOUNG G RL BUT SADLY, SHE WAS

LURED, LIKE MANY CHILDREN, A

PRIEST WOULD INVITE THEM TO HIS

OFFICE ON SUNDAY NIGHTS FOR

MOVIE NIGHT AND IF YOU CAN

IMAGINE BEING A YOUNG CHILD AND

BEING ALLOWED TO SEE A MOVIE,

THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY SPECIAL

THINGS.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES.

THE CHILDREN WERE THEN ABUSED.

WHAT IS SO POWERFUL ABOUT THAT

STORY IS THAT IT WAS HAPPENING

TO OTHER YOUNG GIRLS AT THE SAME

SCHOOL.

LAWYERS INVESTIGATED.

THEY TALK TO OTHER PEOPLE.

THEY REALIZED THAT SIMILAR

THINGS, LURING CHILDREN WITH

CANDY, PREYING ON CHILDREN,

THESE VULNERABLE KIDS AWAY FROM

THEIR HOMES, TAKEN FROM

FAMILIES, STRIPPED OF THEIR

CULTURE AND IT WAS A PATTERN OF

ABUSE THAT WAS HAPPENING AT

DOZENS OF OTHER SCHOOLS.

LISA: WE SPOKE TO SOMEONE ELSE

IN YOUR STORY.

HE WAS SEPARATED FROM HIS FAMILY

^ NOT EVEN GIVEN A NAME, CALLED

BY A NUMBER WHEN HE WAS A CHILD.

HE TOLD US, SEXUALLY ABUSED AND

BEATEN.

HERE IS HOW HE DESCRIBES THE

ISOLATION FROM THAT ABUSE.

>> THERE IS NO PLACE THAT A

CHILD COULD BE SAFE FROM

PREDATORS, PEDOPHILES, FROM SO

MUCH ABUSE.

STRAPPING'S, WHIPPINGS, BEATINGS

, DARK CLOSETS, WEARING A DUNCE

CAP IN FRONT OF THE CLASSROOM,

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.

THERE IS NO PLACE TO GET AWAY

FROM ANY OF WHAT WE WERE

EXPERIENCING.

LISA: THIS IS SO SHAMEFUL.

NO WHITE HOUSE HAS EVER FORMALLY

APOLOGIZED FOR THE INTEGRAL ROLE

IN WHAT HAPPENED IN SCHOOLS IN

THIS COUNTRY.

THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC

BISHOPS RESPONDED TO YOUR STORY

AND DID ACKNOWLEDGE THE HISTORY

AND DEEP SORROW FROM THIS ERA.

THEY SAID THEY HOPE FOR A

DIALOGUE BUT DID NOT TALK ABOUT

THE SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE

RESPONSE.

WHAT DO NATIVE COMMUNITIES AND

SURVIVORS WANT TO HAPPEN?

WHAT DID THEY WANT TO HEAR?

>> IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY FROM

LAWSUITS.

IT'S NOT ABOUT ISSUING PRESS

RELEASES BY A DIOCESES OR

CHURCHES.

FOR SO MANY NATIVE PEOPLE,

SURVIVORS WHO WENT THROUGH THE

SCHOOLS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS,

IT'S ABOUT THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

THAT THEY WERE WRONG TO COME

ABOUT SOMEONE OF OFFICIAL

CAPACITY, THE PRESIDENT, THE

POPE, STANDING BEFORE THEM, AND

SAYING I'M SORRY.

THIS GOVERNMENT WRONG TO YOU.

IT'S A SYSTEMATIC EFFORT TO

ERRATICALLY AND ASSIMILATE

NATIVE CHILDREN, STRIPPED THEM

OF THEIR CULTURE AND WHAT THEY

KNEW, FORCE THEM INTO AN

"EDUCATION."

AND THEY WANT THAT FACE-TO-FACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

THEY WANT THAT FACE-TO-FACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THEY WERE

WRONGED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.

LISA: IT IS FROM A SURVIVOR OF

THE BOARDING SCHOOLS AS WELL.

I WANT TO ASK YOU IN THINKING

ABOUT THIS STORY, WHY DO YOU

THINK IT IS SO HARD FOR THE

UNITED STATES VERSUS CANADA,

WHICH HAS SPENT MUCH MORE

LOOKING INTO THESE ISSUES AND

COMPENSATING SURVIVORS, WHY IS

IT HARD FOR THE UNITED STATES TO

RECKON WITH THESE VERY DARK

MOMENTS IN OUR PAST?

DANA: IT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION

AND I LIKED THE WAY YOU ASKED

THAT.

I WOULD SAY CANADA STRUGGLED AS

WELL.

WE WALKED TO THE PERSON WHO

HEADED THE COMMISSION IN CANADA

IN QUITE A BIT OF DETAIL AND HE

TOLD US THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT

THERE.

THIS IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS.

ANYTIME YOU SHINE A LIGHT ON A

TRAGIC HISTORY, THIS IS THE

DARKEST CHAPTER OF AMERICA'S

VERY DARK HISTORY OF HOW NATIVE

AMERICANS WERE TREATED SO THERE

IS NOTHING EASY ABOUT THIS.

THEY SPENT SEVEN YEARS IN CANADA

AND $6 BILLION TO COME TO A 4000

PAGE CONCLUSION OF HOW THEIR

INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES RETREATED

AND THEY CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS A

CULTURAL GENOCIDE.

WHY IS THE U.S. SO FAR BEHIND?

IT IS NOT AN EASY PROCESS.

I THINK THINGS ARE MOVING

FORWARD AND IT IS COMING INTO

THE LIGHT IN LARGE PART BECAUSE

OF DEB HAALAND, THE FIRST NATIVE

AMERICAN CABINET SECRETARY.

IT'S A VERY PERSONAL STORY FOR

HER.

HER OWN FAMILY, HER OWN

GRANDMOTHER WAS TAKEN AND PUT ON

A TRAIN AND TAKEN 100 MILES FROM

HER HOME.

NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THE STORY

MORE PERSONALLY THAN DEB HAALAND

AND SHE'S BRINGING IT TO LIGHT.

LISA: THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT.

DANA: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR

LISTENING TO THE STORY.