GENOA, NEB. -- The town of Genoa is commemorating a half-century of Indian heritage with a dedication service and State Historical Marker for the U.S. government boarding school for American Indian youth. The dedication highlights the school's complex history and enduring legacy.

The school, once a sprawling 320-acre campus with 39 buildings, now has one remaining two-story brick structure topped with a side gable roof. In its time, the U.S. Indian Industrial School housed over 600 Native American children with the mission of educating them and assimilating them into American society.

However, the school's history is fraught with pain. Summer Copeland, a board member of the Genoa Indian School Foundation, said, "Children were forcibly taken from their homes during a horrific time in our indigenous history, coinciding with attempted genocide." Upon arrival, students were subjected to harsh assimilation practices, including having their hair cut, being forced to wear uniforms, and being forbidden from speaking their native languages. Punishment was often used to enforce these rules.

Despite its dark past, the Genoa foundation hopes to convey a message of hope to those still living who attended the school in the past. Claire Urugutia, a board member of the Genoa Indian School Foundation, noted that while there are no surviving students, their descendants, family members, and tribal members continue to visit Genoa. "It is of great significance for us to promote awareness of the school," she said.

Visitors to the historical marker can watch a video about the school's history and view original artifacts from 50 years ago. "They can see the largest tribal flags and different artifacts from that time," Urugutia said. "My favorite is the model of the school and campus, which gives you a bird's eye view of the previous campus."

Summer Copeland emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the past. "We can continue to process the good and the bad of our history for the good of our future generations," she said. "It is by facing those hard truths that we might grow from them and heal from them."

The Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1990 by local volunteers, is dedicated to collecting and preserving the history of the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School and promoting its heritage. The school operated from 1884 to 1934.