Journal Article

Accountability

"What does accountability mean, what could it look like, for Native communities and our ancestors and those harmed in the cemeteries masquerading as schools? Canada and the US had identical policies toward the Indigenous people of Turtle Island. However, Canada is ahead of the US when it comes to uncovering the abuses in boarding schools."

"Evidence is mounting, making it harder and harder for the government and churches to continue to hide what they did. Deb Haaland, the US Interior Secretary, who is a member of the Laguna Pueblo people, has ordered an investigation into US boarding schools. Here in Minnesota, the governor just signed into law a Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) office. This push for accountability is happening because of the work of Indigenous people. We are revealing the institutions and individuals harming and benefitting from the harm of Native children, women, men, and Two-Spirits." 

Read Chris Stark's (Anishinaabe and Cherokee) important perspective regarding accountability for the atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples during the boarding school era in "Accountability". 

“Accountability” is the second in a series of four blog posts about sex trafficking of Native women and youth in Minnesota, written by Chris Stark. Click here to read the first blog in the series, “A Feast and a Gift“. Click here to watch her story.