Native kids with disabilities were held in wooden boxes. Sweeping reforms are coming

Officials in the Salmon River Central School District in Fort Covington, New York, have acknowledged that wooden boxes were constructed and used to confine elementary school children, including Native children, with disabilities. The practice was ended in December 2025 after these images, confirmed as authentic by school officials, circulated on social media. In a new report, New York

State officials in New York say the Salmon River district’s special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren’t notified.

(Image credit: Used with permision)