Boarding School Stories: Indigenous Remembrances

Justin “Jud” Gauthier, a citizen of the Menominee Nation, attended Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, one of the nation’s oldest federally operated Indian boarding schools, from 1990 to 1995, an experience that grounds this evening’s reflections on boarding school memory and its lasting impact on Native families and communities. In the years since, he has built a career as a writer, actor, and storyteller, earning an MFA in screenwriting from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. His work has taken him to the stage as Larry in the 149ls’ acclaimed comedy Between Two Knees and to television as Vinny in FX’s Reservation Dogs, always bringing a distinctly Indigenous perspective shaped by humor and resilience. Now serving as Indigenous Studies Scholar in Residence at Lawrence University, Jud joins the Lawrence and Fox Valley communities to share how personal remembrance can help all of us understand this chapter of American history and the strength of the people who lived it.