A school banned Indigenous students from using their language. A century later, it’s teaching Cherokee

A precursor to Duke University once stripped students of their culture. Cherokee teachers are leading the change

Between 1882 and 1887, some two dozen children from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians were enrolled in Trinity College's Industrial Indian boarding school. The school, which operated about 20 miles south of Greensboro, North Carolina, alongside the college's traditional liberal arts program, received federal funding in pursuit of its goal to assimilate Indigenous students.

The students, who ranged in age from eight to 18, were forced to work and wear western clothing, and were prohibited from speaking Cherokee or otherwise maintaining their traditions, while other students who attended Trinity College were instructed in the liberal arts.