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Aged four, Mary was playing in her parents\u2019 front yard, when she was grabbed by \u201cthe government people\u201d and taken to a Catholic boarding school to be turned into a Christian. She\u2019s just one of thousands of Native Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and put into boarding schools from the 1800s right up to the 1970s. According to a US government report, the purpose of these schools was to strip indigenous people of their spiritual beliefs, culture and land. A government investigation also found that physical, emotional and sexual abuse was \u201crampant\u201d. Indigenous Americans\u2019 spiritual beliefs are now experiencing a renaissance, but is this revival enough to enable Mary and her friends heal from a childhood of trauma in America\u2019s residential schools?

Presenter: Leana Hosea \nProducer: Leana Hosea with Rajeev Gupta\nProduction co-ordinator: Nancy Bennie \nEditor: Helen Grady