Paiute Tribe confirms bodies of 12 children buried at former boarding school

The remains found buried in an unmarked cemetery at a southern Utah boarding school have been confirmed to be those of 12 Paiute children forced to attend the school in the early 1900s.

In a statement shared Tuesday by The Salt Lake Tribune , The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah expressed devastation over a Utah State University study that confirmed the bodies were those of two Kaibab Paiute children, four Shivwits children and additional children from other tribes.

"Our hearts go out to the families of these children as we are left consider how best to honor and memorialize their suffering," wrote Ona Segundo, Chairwoman of the Kaibub Band of Paiute Indians. "This is but the first step toward healing and reconciliation and we will, in collaboration with the descendants of those children we believe we've identified, determine what our next steps will be."

Students as young as six were taken from their tribes and forced to live at the former Panguitch Indian Board School overseen by the federal government . Some children were taken at gunpoint from St. George and Moccasin, Arizona.

The boarding school operated from 1904 to 1909 and was shut down because of rampant illness, Panguitch Historic Preservation director Steven Lee told FOX 13 News in 2021.

It's believed nearly 150 children were sent to get an American education, but in fact, Lee said they forced into farm labor on 150 acres. Some children ran away, others never left.

Utah State University archaeologists were able to use ground-penetrating radar to confirm the number of bodies buried at the site.