Report details US' boarding school deaths

Government urged to apologize for abuses on Native American children

A US report has confirmed that at least 973 Native American children died while attending federal Indian boarding schools between 1819 and 1969, but acknowledged that "the actual number of children who died while in Indian boarding schools is greater".

Many of the children were buried in at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at 65 former schools across the country, according to the report released on Tuesday by the US Department of Interior. The actual number of children who died and the number of potential burial sites are probably greater, the report said.

The report urges the US government to formally apologize for the 150-year-long "deliberate and strategic actions" to assimilate the children and destroy their culture.