Haunting mystery in Nebraska town: How a federal Native American boarding school lost its dead

GENOA, Nebraska — No one can find the graves.

For 50 years, Native American children from across the country were brought to the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School, a federally run boarding school in rural Nebraska. Multiple generations were stripped of their language, physically abused and isolated from their communities in the name of forced assimilation.

At least 86 students are known to have died there. Records show nine students were buried in the now-missing school cemetery. The remains of 37 others were sent home to their tribes. The final resting place of 40 is still unknown.

Researchers have scoured archives across the nation. They’ve pored over federal documents, letters and newspaper clippings. Archeologists used ground-penetrating radar on the former school campus, dug into the earth — and found nothing but dirt.



https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/30/haunting-mystery-in-nebraska-town-how-a-federal-native-american-boarding-school-lost-its-dead/