I appreciated the historical context pro­vid­ed in “Quest Continues to Identify Students at Indian Schools Run by Mennonites” (May)
and applaud Mennonite historians for dig­ging into the archives to tell the story. Men­nonites were hardly involved at the government-run school at Carlisle, Pa., but they did run schools in Kansas and Oklahoma for about two decades. I would challenge historians to learn more about why Mennonites established those schools and how they were operated. Knowing our own history has never been more important.

Mary Hershberger, Brentwood, Md.

In 2013, I was on a plane to Vancouver, B.C., to join my now-spouse on a Walk for Reconciliation. Also on the plane was a Mennonite from Elkhart, Ind., who told me, “We Mennonites need to recognize our involvement in the residential school system and make amends.” I, a newly re­tired United Church of Christ minister, appreciated what I saw then as Mennonites, represented to me by the woman on the plane, owning a painful history. I am glad to see this process is continuing with an unflinching examination of the historical record as seen in Kimberly Schmidt’s article and others in AW. I appreciate Mennonites’ truth-telling as an act of love.

Daniel Hamlin, Greenbelt, Md.