What happens when a nation decides to forget?
This is the question echoing through Native communities across the U.S. after the Trump administration proposed cutting federal support for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)—a move that could erase vital projects preserving Native American boarding school history.
The Hidden Wounds of America’s Past
For over a century, the U.S. government operated hundreds of boarding schools that forcibly took Native children from their families. These institutions weren't just about education—they were about assimilation. Children were forbidden to speak their languages, stripped of their cultural identity, and subjected to abuse under the banner of "civilizing" them.
Today, thanks to NEH grants, these haunting stories are being uncovered and preserved through documentaries, oral histories, and community-driven exhibits. They are helping Native communities heal and forcing the nation to reckon with its past.
A Dangerous Silence
But the Trump-era proposal to cut NEH funding threatens to silence these efforts. Without that support, the projects documenting these histories—some of them led by survivors—could grind to a halt.
Imagine entire generations erased from history books. Entire tribes’ stories never told. The boarding school era isn’t just a footnote in American history—it’s a scar that demands acknowledgment.
The Voices We Risk Losing
Native survivors of these schools are bravely stepping forward to share their pain—some for the first time. Their voices are powerful, raw, and necessary. These are not just stories of the past, but living testimonies of cultural genocide, resilience, and survival.
To lose their voices due to lack of funding is to participate in the very erasure these schools once stood for.
Preserve Memory. Protect Truth. Push Forward.
History, when honestly told, is uncomfortable. But that discomfort is essential if we want to build a better future.
Supporting NEH is about more than dollars—it’s about dignity. It’s about giving Native voices the space they were long denied.
We must demand that Congress protect funding for the NEH—not as a political gesture, but as a moral obligation.
🪶 History must never be rewritten by silence. Let’s ensure these stories are told, shared, and remembered—because healing starts with truth.
