On the road to healing, tribal citizens are speaking out about boarding schools

Residents of Gila River Indian Community listen during a "Road to Healing" event at the Gila Crossing Community School in Laveen, Ariz. The year-long tour goes across the country to provide Indigenous survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system and their descendants an opportunity to share their experiences. (Matt York/AP)

In a high school gymnasium about 20 miles south of Phoenix, a room full of people shift in their seats. The space is silent, with every small creak echoing in the high rafters of the building. No one wants to be the first one to speak.

Finally, a tall woman with dark hair stands up and walks to the microphone. She begins in English, but introduces herself in Tohono O'odham.