The Legacy of the Government Boarding Schools for Indigenous Children

This class will take place April 18, April 20 and April 25, 2023, 9:00a.m. – Noon, at the Historic Boys’ Dormitory, Lac du Flambeau. There are 20 spots for non-tribal members.

Tribal members: This course is FREE to tribal members. Enrollment is limited. To register as a tribal member, please contact us by April 4. Email us at info@feuniversity.org, or see our contact page. (Non tribal members, sign up below.) After April 4, any remaining spaces will be opened to the class waitlist.

Current students: Access supplemental course materials here (password required)

Learn about the United State Government assimilation policy to eliminate traditional, language, culture and lifeways of Indigenous people. One of those policies was to remove the Indigenous children from parents and tribal leaders.  This class will explain what happened and how the resilience of the Indigenous people made it possible for the tribes’ survival to the present day.

More details:

This class will focus on the United States federal government school system for Indigenous children, with emphasis on the boarding school on the Lac du Flambeau reservation. The class will cover the history of the school system, how the schools were run, the ongoing impact on the children and Indigenous communities both historically and in present generations. The class will also cover the current government recognition of the historical trauma resulting from the devastation by the boarding schools, and most importantly the resilience of the community in recent decades toward revitalizing language and culture, as well as public outreach.

In addition to the class lectures each day, there will be on, 

April 18: An opening ceremony for the course conducted by Mildred “Tinker” Schuman.

April 20: A tour of the George W. Brown, Jr. Museum and Cultural Center by Teresa Mitchell, Director and Curator of the museum.

April 25: A portion of this class will be held in the exhibit room of the Historic Boys Dormitory.

There are no previous requirements to the course. The instructor will place additional readings on the class FeU webpage for students interested in more information.

This class is offered in partnership with the Waaswaaganing Indian Bowl.

Instructor: Cindi Stiles

Offline Registration: Download PDF Registration Form, complete and mail in with payment.

Registration Questions? Contact us or call (715) 892-3982 or (715) 476-2881.

Registration Issues/Troubleshooting: If you are registering with one email address for two or more people, please register each person individually (i.e. do not register all at once, but add students one at a time to checkout). If you continue to have difficulty or have another question, please contact us.