Native Indians are over-represented amongst the people who are homeless in the United States. This is also the case for indigenous people in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Are there commonalities in these four countries that might contribute to the high rates of homelessness?
The U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, has identified a common thread in the history of these countries: boarding schools. Operating with different names, the schools had much in common:
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- They operated as part of a policy to assimilate Indigenous people to white lifestyles.
- Indigenous children were expected/required to attend.
- Students experienced appalling treatment while at boarding schools, including sexual abuse, rape and physical assault.
This government-mandated ‘foundation’ for adulthood carried on for generations of Indigenous people. Over the years, all four countries have ended their boarding school programs.
Shouldn’t that be the end of it?
Well, no.
Secretary Haaland’s investigation has documented that the practices in boarding schools have impacts across generations1. Her investigation also describes inquiries in Australia, Canada and New Zealand with similar findings.
In these circumstances, high rates of homelessness should not come as a surprise.
Secretary Haaland’s investigation is reported in two volumes, which are posted at the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report and Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report Vol. II
The description of programs in New Zealand, Canada and Australia runs from pages 67-77 in volume II.
Footnotes
- In neuroscience, this is referred to as inter-generational trauma. Read more about this at verywellmind: Understanding Intergenerational Trauma and Its Effects on Mental Health
