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

By: Jessica Wade, Nebraska Public Media News

Outlets: Nebraska Examiner

Published: May 30, 2026

Words: 1,761

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 4 days ago

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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 …

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