A husky looks from behind a fence during a snow storm hitting the Buffalo area in Buffalo, New York, U.S. November 19, 2022 REUTERS/Carlos Osorio 

The United States in May acknowledged the damage inflicted on generations of children at federal Indian boarding schools, a system built to assimilate indigenous kids into white society by cutting them off from their parents and tribes. Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt (not pictured), a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, welcomed that admission, part of a report released by the Department of the Interior. But what she really wants is justice.The septuagenarian has waged a so-far fruitless effort to seek restitution for the rapes and other abuses she says she, her eight sisters and scores of other Native American children endured for years at the former St. Paul's Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TEMPLATE OUT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

The United States in May acknowledged the damage inflicted on generations of children at federal Indian boarding schools, a system built to assimilate indigenous kids into white society by cutting them off from their parents and tribes. Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, welcomed that admission, part of a report released by the Department of the Interior. But what she really wants is justice.The septuagenarian has waged a so-far fruitless effort to seek restitution for the rapes and other abuses she says she, her eight sisters and scores of other Native American children endured for years at the former St. Paul's Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TEMPLATE OUT 

U.S. Assistant Interior Department Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland and Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland stand at the beginning of an event in Anadarko, Oklahoma, U.S., July 9, 2022. The pair met with elderly survivors and heard about past abuses committed against the students of the old Native American boarding school system. REUTERS/Brad Brooks 

U.S. Assistant Interior Department Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland and Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland stand at the beginning of an event in Anadarko, Oklahoma, U.S., July 9, 2022. The pair met with elderly survivors and heard about past abuses committed against the students of the old Native American boarding school system. REUTERS/Brad Brooks 

A man wears a hat which reads "You are on Indian Land", as members of the Apache Stronghold gather near the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals while the court listen arguments on whether it had the power to override an act of Congress that gave Rio Tinto Ltd land in Arizona for its Resolution copper mine, which has been challenged by Native Americans, in San Francisco, California October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria 

Glenn Drapeau, 47, director of the Dakota Language Department at the Marty Indian School, poses for a portrait outside his home in Lake Andes, South Dakota, U.S., September 12, 2021. He blames the old federal Indian boarding school system for upending Native American families by isolating children from their parents and tribes. "We pray our elders’ truth will be known," Drapeau said. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Julia Gonzalez, 64, who was a student at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, sits at her dining room table near Lake Andes, South Dakota, U.S., September 12, 2021. She has given up on legal efforts to seek damages for sexual abuse she says she endured at the Catholic-run boarding school. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Julia Gonzalez, 64, who was a student at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, holds her grandchild Julia, two months old, near Lake Andes, South Dakota, U.S., September 12, 2021. "Having somebody really listen to us about what happened, that would be a type of justice for me," said Gonzalez, who alleges she was sexually abused at the Catholic-run school. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any alleged harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Julia Gonzalez, 64, who was a student at the former St. Paul's Indian Mission School, holds her granddaughter Julia, near Lake Andes, South Dakota, U.S., September 12, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Stacks of paper covered in bird droppings are seen inside St. Therese Hall, an abandoned building that used to be part of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt, 73, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, walks the grounds of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, where she alleges she was raped and abused as a student in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A dirt road cuts through the Yankton Indian Reservation near Marty Indian School, formerly known as St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Birds fly inside St. Therese Hall, an abandoned building that used to be part of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. In the 1970s, St. Paul’s changed its name to the Marty Indian School and control passed to the Yankton Sioux Tribe, which constructed a new school nearby. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Sunlight shines through broken windows in St. Therese Hall, an abandoned building that used to be part of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Former students Julia Gonzalez, 64, and Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt, 73, who say they were abused at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, walk the old school grounds in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt, 73, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, walks the grounds of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, where she says she was raped and abused as a student in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 11, 2021. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare. SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Hawk Bair, 18, tries to calm a doll for a class assignment on parenting at Marty Indian School, a tribally controlled school on the Yankton Indian Reservation, after a football game in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 10, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Long Thunder Chases The Wind watches a football game at Marty Indian School, a tribally controlled school on the Yankton Indian Reservation in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 10, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Darwin Alfredo Cano Solis, 19, and Kobe Cano Solis, 12, whose grandmother, Frances Hart, was a student at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, play chess in her backyard in Wagner, South Dakota, U.S., September 10, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Perry Little rides a horse near the Marty Indian School on the Yankton Indian Reservation in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 10, 2021. Control of the school, a former Catholic-run institution known as the St. Paul’s Indian Mission School, transferred to the Yankton Sioux Tribe in the 1970s. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A poster representing former students Geraldine Charbonneau Dubourt, 73, and her eight sisters, all members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, is held by Dubourt outside the Fort Randall Casino and Hotel on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. The elderly siblings, three of whom are now deceased, say they were sexually abused as children at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in nearby Marty, South Dakota. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Graffiti reading "Die" is written on the walls inside St. Therese Hall, an abandoned building that used to be part of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Billboards advertising the Marty Indian School, St. Paul's Catholic Church and Yankton Sioux tribal chairwoman candidate Karen Archambeau, stand in a field next to a road that cuts through the Yankton Indian Reservation near Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Family and friends gather to celebrate the birthday of Frances Hart at the Fort Wagner Casino and Hotel on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. Hart, 70, was a student at the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School on the reservation. She is among dozens of former students who have alleged they were sexually abused at the Catholic-run institution. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Robin Bair, 55, calls on spirits through song during a tour of the grounds of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. Dozens of elderly former students of the old Catholic school have alleged they were sexually abused there by priests and nuns who staffed it. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any alleged harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of those who worked there. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A mother holds her child following a birthday party for Frances Hart at the Fort Wagner Casino and Hotel on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. Hart, 70, filed an unsuccessful civil lawsuit seeking damages for sexual abuse she allegedly suffered as a child at a Catholic-run boarding school on the reservation. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any purported harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priests and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Frances Zephier, 55, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, walks through an abandoned gymnasium that used to be part of the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School during a tour of the school grounds in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 9, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Crosses stand in the graveyard of St. Paul’s Catholic Church on the Yankton Indian Reservation in Marty, South Dakota, U.S., September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Frances Hart, 70, who attended the former St. Paul’s Indian Mission School in her youth, poses for a portrait in Wagner, South Dakota, U.S., September 8, 2021. She is one of dozens of former students to file unsuccessful civil lawsuits seeking damages for sexual abuse they say they experienced at the school. The local Catholic diocese for years has contended in court proceedings that it’s not responsible for any alleged harm because it didn’t operate the school or have direct oversight of the priest and nuns who staffed it. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare SEARCH "O'HARE YANKTON" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Clarence Smith, who attended both Chemawa Indian School in Oregon and the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, poses for a portrait in Thornton, Colorado, U.S., June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt 

Clarence Smith, who attended both Chemawa Indian School in Oregon and the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, poses for a portrait at his home in Thornton, Colorado, U.S., June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt 

Clarence Smith, who attended both Chemawa Indian School in Oregon and the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, poses for a portrait at his home in Thornton, Colorado, U.S., June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt 

Clarence Smith, who attended both Chemawa Indian School in Oregon and the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, poses for a portrait in Thornton, Colorado, U.S., June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt 

Clarence Smith, who attended both Chemawa Indian School in Oregon and the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, looks at a picture of one of his ancestors, Old Man Owl Child, whom he says was a victim of the Baker Massacre in the late 1800s in Thornton, Colorado, U.S., June 18, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt 

A rider is covered in mud as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Audience members watch as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Audience members watch as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

An audience member watches as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A rider from the Arrow Lakes team jumps onto a bareback horse while Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A rider crosses the finish line as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race at Osage County Fairgrounds over Memorial Day weekend in Pawhuska, U.S. May 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Crystal Dove (R) smiles at her daughter in a camp of Native Americans from all over the United States who are participating in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A rider from the Arrow Lakes team jumps off of a bareback horse while Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Audience members watch while Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Audience members applaud while Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska,Oklahoma,U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

People navigate a muddy track as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Kaden Bringsplenty brings his horse to the starting line as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A girl paints on a horse as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A man lights sage on fire to bless the horses as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

A young boy gets his face painted for competition as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Kaden Bringsplenty brings his horse to the starting line as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

People stand for the pledge of allegiance as Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend at the Osage County Fairgrounds in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S. May 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S., May 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Native Americans from all over the United States participate in an Indian relay race over Memorial Day weekend in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, U.S., May 29, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith 

Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris arrive to pay their respects to American Indian veterans during a campaign stop at the American Indian Veterans National Memorial at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque 

Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden arrives to pay respects to American Indian veterans during a campaign stop at the American Indian Veterans National Memorial at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque