A groundbreaking exhibition exploring the deep and lasting impact of boarding schools on American Indians, Remembering Our Indian School Days: The Boarding School Experience draws on first-person recollections, memorabilia and the writings and art of four generations of Indian School alumni to examine the boarding school experience.A powerful display that explores an important era in American history, this exhibition is the first of its kind and utilizes multidisciplinary elements to immerse visitors in the story being told by the people who lived it.
"The boarding school experience is crucial to understanding Native America today," says curator Margaret Archuleta. "This exhibit allows visitors -- both Native and non-Native -- the opportunity to understand the collective history of Indian boarding schools, and to understand how that history has influenced contemporary Native American life."
Remembering Our Indian School Days is the first exhibition to explore the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and education. Originally established to "civilize" Native Americans into mainstream society, Indian boarding schools became a shaping force of a national Native American identity.
"This is not just a part of Native American history; it is an important element of American history in its entirety," Archuleta says. "Indian or not, this exhibit is an important examination of our society both past and present."
Through first person voices, audio and video segments, music, tactile elements and powerful photographs, visitors experience the unfamiliar setting of the boarding school through the familiar venue of education. Each of the exhibition's 10 sections emulate different boarding school experiences and environments, from the arrival to classrooms and dorm rooms. Hands-on stations throughout the exhibition enable visitor interaction.
Remembering Our Indian School Days is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Arizona Republic, Bank of America, Intel Corporation, Mr. & Mrs. William Freeman, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Lynn and the Roger S. Firestone Foundation.
The boarding school experience is crucial to understanding Native America today," says curator Margaret Archuleta. "This exhibit allows visitors -- both Native and non-Native -- the opportunity to understand the collective history of Indian boarding schools, and to understand how that history has influenced contemporary Native American life."
Remembering Our Indian School Days is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Arizona Republic, Bank of America, Intel Corporation, Mr. & Mrs. William Freeman, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Lynn and the Roger S. Firestone Foundation. 
