Tribal Litigation
Boarding School
Reparation
Acknowledgement & Reparation
For generations, Native American children were forcibly removed from their families and communities and sent to government-run and church-operated boarding schools. There, they were stripped of their languages, spiritual practices, cultural identities — and in thousands of cases, their lives. The damage was not only to individuals. It was generational. It was cultural. It was deliberate.
Singleton Schreiber was determined to be at the front of accountability for this history in the United States. We created the first legal team in the country pursuing acknowledgement and reparations for Native American boarding school survivors — modeled on the landmark actions that led to Canada's 2023 settlement with the First Nations. The firm's practice is led by Senior Counsel Robert O. Saunooke, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians with over 35 years of experience in Federal Indian Law.
"This isn't just litigation — it's an acknowledgement of their pain, a step toward healing, and a powerful statement that such abuses will not go unchallenged."
— Robert O. Saunooke, Senior Counsel, Singleton SchreiberThe History
A Policy of Forced Erasure
Beginning in the late 19th century, the United States government implemented a systematic policy of forced assimilation targeting Native American children. Under the infamous directive to "Kill the Indian, save the man," hundreds of government-run and church-operated boarding schools were established across the country. Native children — some as young as four years old — were taken from their homes, sometimes by force, and sent to facilities far from their communities.
At these schools, children were forbidden from speaking their languages or practicing their spiritual traditions. Hair was cut. Names were changed. Traditional clothing was replaced with uniforms. Any expression of Native identity was met with punishment — often severe physical abuse. Many children suffered sexual violence. Many died from disease, neglect, or abuse and were buried in unmarked graves on school grounds, far from their families and homelands.
The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, released by the Department of the Interior in 2022, identified over 400 federal boarding schools that operated between 1819 and 1969. The damage they caused was not confined to the individuals who survived them. It cascaded across generations — in the loss of language, cultural identity, traditional knowledge, and the ability of parents to parent in the way their own parents could not.
Our Goals
Three Pillars of Accountability
Our Team
Led by a Member of the Community
Senior Counsel, Singleton Schreiber
Citizen, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Robert O. Saunooke
Senior Counsel · Tribal Litigation Practice LeadRobert O. Saunooke is a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and has spent over 35 years representing Native American tribes, their members, and litigating Native American issues. He leads Singleton Schreiber's Tribal Litigation practice and is at the center of the firm's national litigation seeking compensation for individuals and tribes harmed by the Native boarding school system.
Over his career, Robert has served as legislative counsel for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Policy Advisor for the Chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and outside counsel to tribes across the country. He has deep expertise in Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty, and the intersection of indigenous rights with the U.S. legal system.
What distinguishes Robert's leadership of this practice is not just legal experience — it is lived connection. As a Native American, he brings a personal understanding of the community he represents and the generational impact of the harms this litigation seeks to address.
"I am not just an advocate — I am a part of the community I represent."
— Robert O. SaunookeFederal Acknowledgement
President Biden's Formal Apology
In 2024, President Biden issued a formal apology on behalf of the United States, recognizing the historic and ongoing pain inflicted on Native American communities through the boarding school system. As Robert O. Saunooke has noted, this apology represents more than words — it is a call to action, and a reminder of the responsibility to pursue justice for generations of Native peoples who have endured neglect, discrimination, and cultural erasure. Acknowledgement is a beginning. Accountability is what comes next.
Eligibility
Who May Have a Claim
Boarding School Survivors
Native American individuals who were forced to attend U.S. government-run or church-operated boarding schools and suffered abuse, neglect, physical harm, sexual violence, or other injury — including the forced suppression of language, culture, and spiritual practice.
Family Members of Survivors
Immediate family members of survivors who experienced documented generational harm — including the disruption of familial relationships, language transmission, and cultural continuity — as a direct result of the boarding school system.
Families of Those Who Did Not Return
Families of Native children who died at or as a result of boarding schools — including those buried in unmarked graves — who were never returned to their communities and whose families were denied proper acknowledgement and burial rites.
Tribal Nations
Tribal nations and communities that experienced collective harm — the destruction of language, culture, governance, and generational knowledge — as a direct result of the systematic removal of their children over decades of forced assimilation policy.
Common Questions
Boarding School Reparation FAQ
Beginning in the late 1800s, the U.S. government forcibly removed Native American children from their families and communities and sent them to government-run and church-operated boarding schools. These institutions operated under an explicit policy of forced assimilation — stripping children of their languages, spiritual practices, cultural identities, and family connections. Many children suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Many never returned home. The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report identified over 400 such schools and documented marked and unmarked graves at school grounds.
Survivors who were forced to attend U.S. Native American boarding schools and suffered abuse, neglect, or other harm may be eligible to file a claim. Family members of survivors who experienced generational harm — including disruption of language, cultural identity, and familial relationships — may also have claims. Families of those who died at boarding schools and tribal nations seeking collective reparations may also qualify. Contact our team for a confidential evaluation.
Yes. In 2024, President Biden issued a formal apology on behalf of the United States, recognizing the historic and ongoing pain inflicted on Native American communities through the boarding school system. The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, released by the Department of Interior, identified over 400 federal boarding schools and documented widespread abuse, neglect, and the deaths of thousands of Native children. Federal acknowledgement is a critical first step — but legal accountability must follow.
In 2019, the First Nations of Canada pursued acknowledgement and reparations from the Canadian government and the churches that operated boarding schools there. A landmark 2023 settlement provided significant funding and created a framework for ensuring that First Nations culture would continue, and the damages caused were repaired. Singleton Schreiber was determined to be at the front of similar actions in the United States and created the first legal team in the country pursuing comparable accountability.
The firm is pursuing three interrelated goals: monetary reparations for individual survivors who suffered abuse and neglect; tribal-level reparations addressing the generational destruction of language, culture, and familial relationships; and support for federal legislation to create a truth and healing commission to formally address the assimilation policies carried out through the boarding school system. Litigation and advocacy work together — what happens in Congress directly shapes what is possible in the courthouse.
The practice is led by Senior Counsel Robert O. Saunooke, a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians with over 35 years of experience in Federal Indian Law. Robert has served as legislative counsel for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Policy Advisor for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and outside counsel to tribes across the country. His leadership of this practice is grounded not only in legal expertise but in lived connection to the community the litigation serves — something that cannot be replicated and that deeply informs how these cases are approached.
Free Consultation
The History Was Real.
The Accountability Must Be Too.
If you or a family member survived the U.S. boarding school system, or if your tribe experienced lasting harm from forced assimilation policies, contact our team today for a free, confidential consultation.
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