Southern Ute Boarding School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Southern Ute Boarding School was an American Indian boarding school located near Ignacio, Colorado, in operation from 1886 to 1920.[1][2] The campus remained in intermittent use as a school until its closure in 1981.[1] It was one of six American Indian boarding schools operated in Colorado.[2] At least 57 documented Ute student deaths occurred at the school, which was part of a larger initiative by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to assimilate Native American children.[3] The Ute tribe has worked to preserve the remains of the campus; however, in 2023, the Southern Ute Tribal Council approved the demolition of the Ute Vocational School-Head Start building on the site.[1][4]