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U.S. NEWS Thursday 12 May 2022
U.S. finds 500 Native American boarding school deaths so far

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A Department said. It has so
first-of-its-kind federal study far identified at least 53
of Native American board- burial sites at or near board-
ing schools that for over a ing schools, not all of which
century sought to assimilate have marked graves.'
Indigenous children into Tribal leaders have pressed
white society has identi- the agency to ensure that
fied more than 500 student any children's remains that
deaths at the institutions, are found are properly
but officials say that figure cared for and delivered
could grow exponentially back to their tribes, if de-
as research continues. sired. The burial sites' loca-
The Interior Department re- tions will not be released
port released Wednesday publicly to prevent them
expands to more than 400 from being disturbed, said
the number of schools that Bryan Newland, the Interior
were known to have oper- Department's assistant sec-
ated across the U.S. for 150 retary for Indian Affairs.
years, starting in the early At a news conference
19th century and coincid- Wednesday, Haaland
ing with the removal of choked back tears as she
many tribes from their an- described how the board-
cestral lands. It identified ing school era perpetuated
the deaths in records for poverty, mental health dis-
about 20 of the schools. orders, substance abuse
The dark history of Na- In this July 8, 2021, photo, adjunct history professor and research associate Larry Larrichio holds and premature deaths in
tive American boarding a copy of a late 19th century photograph of pupils at an Indigenous boarding school in Santa Fe Indigenous communities.
schools — where children during an interview in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Recognizing the impacts
were forced from their fam- Associated Press of the federal Indian board-
ilies, prohibited from speak- ing school system cannot
ing their languages and tens of thousands. Causes whose paternal grandpar- and pain. Accounting for just be a historical reckon-
often abused — has been included illness, accidental ents were sent to boarding the number of deaths will ing," she said. "We must
felt deeply across Indian injuries and abuse, officials school for several years as be difficult because re- also chart a path forward
Country and through gen- say. kids. cords weren't always kept. to deal with these legacy
erations. "Each of those children is a The agency is in the process A second volume of the issues."
Many children never re- missing family member, a of poring through thou- report will cover burial sites Haaland, who is Laguna,
turned home, and the In- person who was not able sands of boxes containing as well as the federal gov- announced an initiative
terior Department said that to live out their purpose on more than 98 million pages ernment's financial invest- last June to investigate the
with further investigation this Earth because they lost of records, with help from ment in the schools and troubled legacy of board-
the number of known stu- their lives as part of this ter- many Indigenous people the impacts of the board- ing schools and uncover
dent deaths could climb rible system," said Interior who have had to work ing schools on Indigenous the truth about the govern-
to the thousands or even Secretary Deb Haaland, through their own trauma communities, the Interior ment's role in them.q
U.S. overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year, CDC says

By MIKE STOBBE est numbers "truly stagger- Last year, overdoses in-
AP Medical Writer ing." volving fentanyl and other
NEW YORK (AP) — More The White House issued a synthetic opioids surpassed
than 107,000 Americans statement calling the ac- 71,000, up 23% from the
died of drug overdoses last celerating pace of over- year before. There also was
year, setting another tragic dose deaths "unaccept- a 23% increase in deaths in-
record in the nation's esca- able" and promoting its re- volving cocaine and a 34%
lating overdose epidemic, cently announced national increase in deaths involving
the Centers for Disease drug control strategy. It meth and other stimulants.
Control and Prevention es- calls for measures like con- Overdose deaths are of-
timated Wednesday. necting more people to ten attributed to more than
The provisional 2021 total treatment, disrupting drug one drug. Some people
translates to roughly one trafficking and expanding take multiple drugs and
U.S. overdose death every access to the overdose- inexpensive fentanyl has
5 minutes. reversing medication nal- been increasingly cut into Deb Walker visits the grave of her daughter, Brooke Goodwin,
It marked a 15% increase oxone. other drugs, often without Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Chester, Vt.
from the previous record, U.S. overdose deaths have the buyers' knowledge, of- Associated Press
set the year before. The risen most years for more ficials say.
CDC reviews death certifi- than two decades. The in- "The net effect is that we relatively small exposure," treatment harder to get.
cates and then makes an crease began in the 1990s have many more people, Volkow said in a statement. Overdose death trends are
estimate to account for with overdoses involving including those who use Experts say the COVID-19 geographically uneven.
delayed and incomplete opioid painkillers, followed drugs occasionally and pandemic has exacerbat- Alaska saw a 75% increase
reporting. by waves of deaths led by even adolescents, exposed ed the problem as lock- in 2021 — the largest jump
Dr. Nora Volkow, director other opioids like heroin to these potent substances downs and other restric- of any state. In Hawaii,
of the National Institute on and — most recently — il- that can cause someone tions isolated those with overdose deaths fell by
Drug Abuse, called the lat- licit fentanyl. to overdose even with a drug addictions and made 2%.q