Complexities, tragedies of Native American boarding schools explored in exhibit at Upcountry History Museum

“To educate and assimilate into “civilized” society.” That was the motive in the 1870s behind taking Native American children to distant residential boarding schools and stripping them of all signs of their culture. On Saturday, August 31, 2024, the Upcountry History Museum – Greenville County, a Smithsonian Affiliate, opens the exhibition, “Away from Home: Native American Boarding Schools,” which gives voice to the stories of thousands of children forced into a world that deprived them of their language, contact with their families, and their ethnic identity.

Students in these boarding schools were trained for domestic work and trade in a highly regimented environment through the 1930s with social reform compelling change into the 1970s. While some suffered in silence, some struggled bitterly, and others succumbed to physical abuse. Others, in some cases, found ways to build a new sense of self within this new, wider world. Away from Home takes visitors on a journey through stories of student resistance, accommodation, creative resolve, devoted participation, escape, and faith in self and heritage. As noted by Ojibwe tribe historian Brenda Childs, “the boarding school experience was carried out in public but had an intensely private dimension.”

Featured in the exhibition are photographs, artwork, objects, interactive timelines, and interviews, all presented through immersive environments, such as classroom and dormitory settings. Please note there are descriptions of human indignities, hardships and terms that reflect historically racist perspectives and language from past eras. In providing such historical context, this exhibition is advised for more mature audience members, grades eight to adult.

“Away from Home: Native American Boarding Schools” is on display from Aug. 31 through October 20, 2024. The exhibition is made possible by NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It was adapted from the permanent exhibition, “Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories,” organized by The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.