American Indian gives presentation in England on over 130-year legacy of Indian boarding schools where children were abused and their culture desecrated. Indian families were torn apart and tens of thousands of children were required to dress, pray, work and speak as mainstream Americans. Everything from wearing long hair to speaking a single Indian word was forbidden.



Nancy Iverson, M.D., San Francisco, CA and Shelli Martinez, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, WA; gave a presentation on the over 130-year legacy of American Indian boarding schools at the Oxford Symposium in School-Based Family Counseling (Aug, 4-9), Brasenose College, Oxford, England. The boarding schools tore families apart and tens of thousands of children were abused and their culture desecrated. The first American Indian to attend the symposium, Martinez drew upon family history for her remarks. The trauma of shame, fear and anger has passed from one generation to the next, manifesting itself in the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse. domestic violence, depression and diseases such as diabetes that plague Indian Country today. Symposium participants from Canada, Australia, Turkey, South Africa, Macao, New Zealand, Germany, United Kingdom and the U.S. attended the presentation. Iverson is the director of PATHSTAR ( http://www.pathstar.org ) that helps inspire tribal communities to eat healthy and stay active. Martinez will head a six-woman Colville Tribes team at the 2013 PATHSTAR Alcatraz Swim Week (Oct. 6-14) in San Francisco.Photo Credit: Steven Abrams