U.S. Indian boarding school system devastates families, tribes: Washington Post

NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- For nearly 100 years, from the late 1870s until 1969, the U.S. government, often in partnership with churches, religious orders and missionary groups, operated and supported more than 400 Indian boarding schools in 37 states, eventually causing devastating legacy to families and tribes, The Washington Post reported on Monday.

"Taken from their homes on reservations, Native American children -- some as young as 5 -- were forced to attend Indian boarding schools as part of an effort by the federal government to wipe out their languages and culture and assimilate them into White society," noted the report, citing the first investigation into the schools by the U.S. Interior Department.

Government officials and experts estimate that tens of thousands of Native children attended the schools over several generations, though no one knows the exact number. Thousands are believed to have died at the schools. Many others were sexually assaulted, physically abused or emotionally traumatized, it said.

Some survivors have never spoken publicly about their experiences, which left them deeply scarred, and whole process was described as "an Indian holocaust," it added.