Native America Calling: Michigan backs away from Indian boarding school report

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Native America Calling: Michigan backs away from Indian boarding school report

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

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Michigan backs away from Boarding Schools report

A 300-page report details the history and ongoing implications of Michigan’s role in the Indian Boarding School era.

It includes dozens of interviews, public records, and a list of recommendations for state officials going forward. It details troubling accounts that have become familiar in the discussion about boarding schools — physical and sexual abuse of Native American students, oppressive methods to enforce assimilation, and limited accountability for anyone involved.

But the Michigan Department of Civil Rights is backing away from the report. After investing almost $1 million, the state is declining to release the final document to the public.

Native American Boarding Schools in Michigan

A document obtained and posted by Bridge Michigan was commissioned by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to look into Indian boarding schools. It is titled Native American Boarding Schools in Michigan and is dated September 30, 2025.

The document has since been posted online by the news site Bridge Michigan. Tune in to talk to those involved about what is in the report and what it means that the state is not backing it.

Also, get perspective on the appointment of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-Oklahoma) as the Secretary of Homeland Security. Tune in to hear from people who know and are familiar with his work as a longtime elected leader in Oklahoma.

Native Republican tapped for Cabinet post in surprise shakeup

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) is poised to make history as the first Native person in the Donald Trump cabinet following a shake-up in Washington, D.C.

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Guests on Native America Calling

April Lindala (Mohawk and Delaware), department head for Native American Studies at Northern Michigan University

Jo Ann Kauffman (Nez Perce), founder of Kauffman and Associates, a Native-woman owned company contracted to study the Indian boarding school era in Michigan

Regina Gasco (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), former chairperson of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and boarding school survivor

Wes Nofire (Cherokee), former Oklahoma Native American Liaison, former Cherokee Nation council member, and former professional athlete

Allen Wright (Choctaw), president and founder of the Hustings Group

Ron French, senior writer at Bridge Michigan

The Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial School operated from June 30, 1893, to June 6, 1934 with an average enrollment of 300 students per year. The facility was built on land taken by an 1855 treaty between the United States and Ojibwe tribes. Photo: U.S. Library of Congress

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