I’m honored to be able to share a story about the Santa Fe Indian School. @ahylton26 & I got to meet inspiring students and teachers, witness Native American language classes (6 different languages taught!), and see traditional dancing and singing on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Student Jireh Garcia (Ohkay Owingeh and Zuni Pueblos) told us, wearing his traditional regalia: “Back in the day, we were not allowed to speak our languages. We were punished just for dressing up in our regalia.” But now, dancing freely, “shows our resilience as Native people.”
The school was founded in 1890 by the U.S. government, one of more than 400 institutions designed to separate Native peoples from their families and stamp out Native culture. Children were abused; hundreds died. All in the name of assimilation.
All around campus grow corn stalks like this one. Student Alexis Vigil (Pueblo of Jemez) told us that each one represents a Native kid who suffered or died here and was “never able to return home.” Alexis told @ahylton26: “Each corn that grows is a kid that is flourishing.”
Santa Fe Indian School has taken back their school and their curriculum. Once a boarding school that traumatized Native children, it’s now a school that celebrates Indigenous culture, language, and traditions. I hope you’ll watch their story on @MSNBC msnbc.com/hallie-jackson…