American Indian Boarding School Remembrance Day

American Indian Boarding School Remembrance Day Presented by the Heard Museum & the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center

Start American Indian Boarding School Remembrance Day with a special program at the Heard Museum, and receive a commemorative orange t-shirt to take home (while supplies last). Hear an overview of the year-round exhibition, Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories from Dr. Ann Marshall, Heard Museum Director of Research, and spend the morning with panelists LouVina Maho and Felicita Bonito Cromwell who attended two different boarding schools. 

In 1968, LouVina Maho was a senior at the Stewart Indian School in Stewart, Nevada when she won the title of Miss Stewart Indian School. She proudly represented the boarding school she called home for four years. 22 years later, Felicita Bonito Cromwell, was crowned the last Miss Phoenix Indian School in 1990.

Join us for this unique opportunity to hear from both women (who graduated in two different decades) about their experiences and life at Stewart Indian School and Phoenix Indian School.

After the panel, participants will make their way to Steele Indian School Park for a luncheon discussion inside Memorial Hall, providing an exclusive look inside a building that is dedicated to the boys from Phoenix Indian School who served in WWI. This is a rare chance to explore the beautiful multistory red-brick building and see the suspended balcony. In addition, Felicita Bonito Cromwell will lead a walking tour of the former school grounds and share her memories of life on campus. 

Event Highlights

Here’s what participants can expect from this 5-hour program:
• A unique opportunity to access Memorial Hall at Steele Indian School Park
• A panel at the Heard Museum with Ms. Maho & Ms. Cromwell
• A catered lunch in Memorial Hall, inspired by traditional Indigenous foodways
• A walking tour of the former Phoenix Indian School grounds led by Ms. Cromwell
• A commemorative orange T-Shirt designed specifically for this program

This program is presented in recognition of the Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools, also known as Orange Shirt Day—a time to honor and remember the children taken from their families and placed in residential schools. Guests are encouraged to wear orange as a visible act of solidarity and to help raise awareness.

About the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center

The Phoenix Indian Industrial School, known as the Phoenix Indian School in later years, was established in 1891, operating as a boarding school for American Indian children by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Initially focused on forced assimilation of Native American children into mainstream American culture, the school served as a site of cultural suppression and, later, a place where students began to reclaim their heritage. Located at the corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road, much of this site was transferred to the City of Phoenix from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1990, which the city used to create Steele Indian School Park. Since its closing, Phoenix has saved three historic buildings and placed them on the National Register of Historic Place, including the same building Native American Connections and Phoenix Indian Center has renovated and transformed into the Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center.

Featured Exhibition

Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories is the updated installation of the long-running Boarding School exhibition at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Self-guided audio tours are available via the Heard Museum app. Download it today from the App Store or Google Play.

Artwork: Judith Lowry (Mountain Maidu/Hammawi-Pit River), Going Home, 1992. Acrylic on canvas. Gift of Kathleen L. and William G. Howard. Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona.

Learn More