From the North Carolina Synod Council
The North Carolina Synod office is located on the original and ancestral homelands of the Keyauwee people, and we give thanks for their presence here since time immemorial. We also wish to recognize and honor all our indigenous siblings who have called and continue to call this land their home.
In September, we came to you and invited you to drape an orange cloth for 225 days honoring the lives of indigenous children killed in boarding schools. In November, we shared our formal land acknowledgement and invited you to honor the peoples who first lived on your congregation's land.

We committed to not just drape orange cloth but to learn together. Each month we will focus on a different part of the native story and highlight a resource. We are following the list of topics suggested by native leaders in the ELCA. In January, we will highlight the Carlisle Boarding School.

We pray that you would open yourself to learning, to being transformed, and to being in deep solidarity with our indigenous siblings.
January Topic: Carlisle Boarding School
The Carlisle Boarding School—The Basics
  • Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, opened in 1879 as the first government-run boarding school for Native American children.
  • The Army transferred Carlisle Barracks, a military post not in regular use, to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for use as a boarding school.
  • The named goal: Forced assimilation of Native children into white American society under the belief of “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” 
  • Students were forced to cut their hair, change their names, stop speaking their Native languages, convert to Christianity, and endure harsh discipline including corporal punishment and solitary confinement. This approach was ultimately used by hundreds of other Native American boarding schools, some operated by the government and many more operated by churches. 
  • On September 1, 1918, the school was officially closed and the buildings were transferred back to the U.S. Army to serve as a rehabilitation hospital for soldiers wounded in the war. Today, the site is home to the U.S. Army War College.


“Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” This was the guiding principle that removed thousands of Native American children and placed them in Indian boarding schools. Among the many who died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School were three Northern Arapaho boys. Now, more than a century later, tribal members journey from Wyoming to Pennsylvania to help them finally come home.
Theological Reflections on the Carlisle Boarding School
As you learn about Carlisle, we invite you to struggle with these theological questions. These would work well for individual reflections, conversation in faith formation classes, and with your faith leadership.

Questions for Reflection:
  • In Jeremiah, God promises us a future. How did the taking of children into boarding schools impact the future of tribes? What kind of future do you think God envisioned for these children?
  • If all children are made in the image of God—including their cultural dress, hair, language—how did the boarding school movement deny the image of God in these children?
Invitation to Action
Join and engage with the National Native Boarding School Healing Coalition at boardingschoolhealing.org

We are a coalition of people who support the healing of boarding school survivors and descendants. We use our coalition voice to educate others about the truth of the Boarding School Policies, experiences, and legacy. We call for action towards justice and healing. We use our network to share research, healing resources, and advocacy. We learn from one another, and we grow and heal together.
Additional Resources

Listen to the Rev. Jack Russell, pastor of Living Waters, Cherokee, share some sacred memories about residential boarding schools with Pastor Danielle DeNise.
Unspoken: America’s Native American Boarding Schools — A PBS Utah documentary on the history of the federal boarding school system, including present-day boarding schools and current struggles that Indigenous peoples face. 

Indian Horse — A Netflix movie about a boarding school in Canada. The film centers on Saul Indian Horse, a young Canadian First Nations boy who survives Canada's Indian residential school system to become a star ice hockey player.
Questions?
If you have questions about any of these resources, contact staff liaison for our Indigenous Learning Team, Pastor Danielle DeNise.
Click here to join the monthly Indigenous Learning e-News.
Indigenous Learning e-News | NC Synod, ELCA | 704-633-4861 | nclutheran.org