Were there American Indian Boarding Schools in Ohio?
Answer
In 2021, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to document schools that were operated or directly supported by the United States federal government. The DOI identified 408 schools. The list did not include any schools in Ohio.
In August 2023, the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) released further research identifying 523 American Indian boarding schools that operated in the United States from 1801 to present. The list includes the Shawnee Friends Mission and School in Wapakoneta, Ohio.
We welcome anyone interested to learn more about this topic. Although the Shawnee Friends School at Wapakoneta was located in Ohio, it was administered by the Indiana Yearly Meeting of Friends of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Records for that body appear to be held at the Friends Collection, Lilly Library, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana.