Fairway, KS – Last week, Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas’ 3rd District, and Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma’s 4th District, introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the week of Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 as a National Week of Remembrance for survivors of federal Indian boarding schools.
Resolution details and historical context
The resolution, announced in a Sept. 24 press release, seeks to honor the more than 526 government‑funded Indian boarding schools that operated in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Among those schools was the Shawnee Indian Manual Labor School, now the Shawnee Indian Mission, located in Fairway.
While the Shawnee school was run by Methodist missionaries rather than the federal government, it shared the broader goal of forced cultural assimilation. Survivors and descendants recount that children were taken from their families, prohibited from speaking their languages, and subjected to harsh discipline.
Local officials weigh in
Fairway City Administrator Nathan Nogelmeier emphasized that, like other historic mission schools, the Shawnee Indian Mission “sought assimilation while keeping families intact when educating Indigenous youth.” He added that the National Week of Remembrance is needed to acknowledge a “horrific chapter” of forced cultural assimilation.
“At the Shawnee Indian Mission, we honor and remember the loss of culture, freedom and identity experienced by Indigenous peoples,” Nogelmeier said.
Support from tribal leaders and advocates
Native leaders praised the effort. Nikki Santos, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, said the remembrance week “calls on all of us to ensure that the experiences of Native children and families are never again forgotten or erased.”
Davids, a member of the Ho‑Chunk Nation, highlighted the lasting impact of the schools on Native communities and stressed that the resolution aims to promote healing for future generations. Cole, a Chickasaw Nation member, noted that the history of these schools is often omitted from school curricula.
Legislative background
The resolution notes that under the Indian Civilization Fund Act of 1819, hundreds of thousands of American Indian and Alaska Native children as young as three were removed to boarding schools. Historian David Wallace Adams estimates that nearly 83% of school‑age Native children were enrolled in such schools by 1926.
It also points out that the full extent of the policies’ consequences has yet to be examined by the federal government, the churches that operated the schools, or other entities that profited from them.
Next steps
The 10‑page resolution will be considered by the House and Senate in the coming weeks. If passed, the designated week will include educational initiatives, public events, and outreach to survivors and their families.
Local officials hope the designation will foster greater awareness and support for healing initiatives, including the ongoing discussion over the ownership of the 12‑acre Shawnee Indian Mission historic site.
Original reporting: Johnson County Post (Overland Park) — read the source article.
