38 graves the Church tried to hide.

Catholic officials are refusing to turn over documents concerning unmarked graves found in South Dakota at a former Indian boarding school that would help identify what are likely Native children.

Over the summer, I alerted the internet to a letter I saw that was sent to the US Congress about Truth and healing legislation. US Bishops were asking to be included in the Commission tasked with investigating boarding schools and to have the subpoena power removed from the bill. They argued that it wasn’t fair that religious groups were not involved and asserted that “voluntary cooperation should be sought before a subpoena.”

I gave my thoughts on the matter in a previous post:

But now, just a few months later, the Catholic church is doing exactly what we knew they would do. They are withholding documents. 38 unmarked graves were found on the Crow Creek reservation in South Dakota. On the grounds of a former Catholic Boarding School. Not much is yet known about what most likely are former Native students. Access to records continues to be the biggest hurdle.

“We were told that half of the archives went to Vermillion and half went to Augustana in Sioux Falls,” Lengkeek said. “But they won’t let us in there to look.”

The Immaculate Conception Church and mission no longer exist, and with their closings, death records have become even harder to find. According to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, in a situation like this, death records should be housed in the diocese.

The Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese, which oversaw Immaculate Conception, did not respond to numerous requests from ICT and the Rapid City Journal for information.

Instances like this are precisely why the subpoena power is essential for this legislation. It is vital that it be passed this congressional session. If you have not yet, please contact your reps directly by phone, email or with the tools I have below:

https://resist.bot/petitions/PFGDEY

https://boardingschoolhealing.org/advocacy/takeaction/

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/indian-boarding-school-policies-act/?link_id=1&can_id=b6d86e439f5e113b01aeb691e98fd357&source=email-survivors-of-indian-boarding-schools-and-their-relatives-must-be-recognized-and-honored&email_referrer=email_2538327&email_subject=survivors-of-indian-boarding-schools-and-their-relatives-must-be-recognized-and-honored

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