Grand Valley students, staff attend Journey to Forgiveness

A group of social work students and several Grand Valley faculty and staff members attended a historical Native American ceremony in Mount Pleasant that recalled tragic events not covered in many history books.

The Journey to Forgiveness on June 17 was witnessed by about 500 people. Held at the site of the former Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial School, the journey was part of a cross-country trip organized by Native Americans in efforts to raise awareness and bring healing to families and communities impacted by Indian boarding schools.

Dee Ann Sherwood Bosworth, director of Intercultural Training, attended and helped organize the Grand Valley contingent. Sherwood Bosworth said during the 1800s until the 1960s, countless Indigenous children were taken from their homes and brought to boarding schools where they were given new non-Indian names and forced to speak English.

“The intention was to ‘kill the Indian and save the man,’” Sherwood Bosworth said. “Often, the coercive removal from their homes and prolonged separation from parents resulted in trauma. The problems that we see happening today in Indian communities are linked to what happened in the boarding schools.”

The Division of Inclusion and Equity co-sponsored the trip along with the School of Social Work. During the Journey to Forgiveness, survivors of the Mount Pleasant boarding school told their stories and the event ended with a healing circle. Also attending were Amy Vega Boyd, TRiO Educational Talent Search advisor; Connie Dang, interim director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs; Sue Sloop, Work Life consultant; Sue Carson, associate professor of education; and Bob Stoll, director of Student Life.

Many of the students were from Patty Stow Bolea’s class. For the past five years, Stow Bolea, associate professor of social work, has taken students to Mount Pleasant for a cross-cultural immersion and service learning class that includes spending two weeks with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. A few students are planning a presentation about the experience and hope their proposal is accepted for November’s Great Lakes History Conference.

Vega Boyd, a co-advisor for Grand Valley’s Native American Student Association, said her experience was unforgettable. “This site was later turned into a state hospital; people in Mount Pleasant don’t even know its former history,” she said.

Student Karen VanderLaan said the ceremony’s conclusion was powerful. “After the walk and listening to these stories, the participants at the end of the day were ready to release all these feelings and let the healing process begin,” said VanderLaan, who will earn a master’s of social work degree next spring.

The 40-day trip across America included stops at boarding schools in 15 states before stopping in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of the American Indian. The Journey’s goal was to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness among Native Americans for the trauma caused by Indian boarding schools.

Photo: Grand Valley students and staff members attended the Journey to Forgiveness in Mount Pleasant. Pictured with students are Dee Ann Sherwood Bosworth, back row, left; and Amy Vega Boyd, front row, second from left.