♪ this is "nightline." >> bearing witness. a new reckoning for what many believe is one of america's darkest secrets. >> the boarding school was inhumane. the united states government is going to be accountable. >> indian boarding schools, many run by the u.s. government, where indigenous children were taken from their tribes. >> we all carry the trauma from that era in our hearts. >> allegations of abuse, children forced to leave their families and abandon their own culture. >> they just saw these kids that they weren't even human. they saw them as savages. >> survivors now demanding accountability. but can they reclaim a crucial part of their identity before it's too late? chris hemsworth.

you know him as thor on the big screen. now he's pushing his mind and body to the limit. >> you're probably asking yourself why i'm dangling a thousand feet off the ground. i'm asking the same question. >> a quest to unlock his real-life superpowers. and the shocking discovery along the way. >> you have an increased risk of alzheimer's disease. >> that led him to step back. >> to all of a sudden be told, oh, this may be the thing that might take you out was like, whoa. and corn kid kindness. >> it's corn! >> how the viral sensation is spreading sweetness this thanksgiving. this isn't charmin!

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and less effort. heritage this month and all year long. ♪ ♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, a closer look at a dark chapter in american history. for decades, indigenous children were taken from their native tribes away from their families, forced into boarding schools where assimilation was the goal. and cruelty was commonplace. now the challenge is not just to recognize the wrong, but to restore the sacred rights. >> we're going to listen to boarding school survivor

testimonies. >> reporter: shylee brave and her tribe have hoped for this day for a long time. >> i kind of just am hoping that people see how resilient we are. as a native american people. because they pretty much tried to kill us off, and they couldn't. >> reporter: shylee and the youth council are helping set up an event years in the making on the rosebud sioux reservation. interior contrary deb holland, a member of the laguna pueblo tribe, is bearing witness to a history that's long been buried. >> i want apologies. i want our land back. i want everything back. >> all my life, i know torture from the boarding school. >> i want to see a letter from department of interior, the secretary. i want to recognize, put it on paper, that what happened to us at the boarding school was

inhumane and the united states government is going to be accountable. >> reporter: this is the third stop on secretary holland's road to healing tour, part of a national reckoning by the u.s. government to address the lasting trauma of indian boarding schools. >> i called the boarding school era one of america's best-kept secrets. boarding school and the legacy of boarding school has impacted every native family. >> reporter: the boarding school era lasted over a century in america. hundreds of thousands of indigenous children taken, often by force, from their homes, families, and land. then put into boarding schools, where the goal was forced assimilation. all sanctioned by the u.s. government and some religious groups. the children often subjected to physical and emotional abuse. their native language and culture forbidden. >> their hair was immediately cut. some had kerosee put in their hair. they said it burned. they were given uniforms. they had to work half a day in the kitchen, in the room, work in the feeled, that

they didn't get paid for. >> reporter: poor living conditions bred disease. tens of thousands of children are believed to have died at these schools from illness, and some say even abuse. >> they just saw these kids that they weren't even human. they saw them as salve ans. >> we all carry the trauma from that era in our hearts. i this is the first time in united states a united states cabinet secretary comes to the table with this shared trauma. that's not lost on me. i'm determined to use my position for the good of our people. >> reporter: this spring, secretary holland announced the findings of an investigation into that history. documenting for the first time that there were over 400 federal schools in the united states and identifying over 50 schools where children were buried. for those who survived, like

dorothy mcclain, the pain of their experience was often passed dn gerion to creating a l of unhealed trauma. >> i didn't think it was going to affect me this way. there was a lot of loneliness. >> reporter: the meeting with secretary holland took place on the site of the old and long-closed rose bud boarding school. dorothy was a student here when she was 6. >> this is harsh, where we're standing, because sometimes if you were punished, that you'd have to run 100 laps around this whole place. where the building is, there was a matron that would stand there. if you had slowed down, then you were hit. she would hit you. >> reporter: now 69 years old, dorothy still carries the ghost of her childhood anguish. >> i see myself as a little girl here, 6 years old. and trying to -- just -- trying

to be a kid, trying to be a child, trying to be loved. and that wasn't in the -- it wasn't here. >> we didn't go to boarding school, but we still deal with the same traumas that our grandparents, great grand parents went through. >> reporter: shylee, granddaughter of a boarding school side of survivor, is determined to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. >> i think that secretary holland and her team are doing what they can and what they know they should do, because if they didn't think that the government did anything wrong, they wouldn't be doing what they're trying to do. >> reporter: in some ways this meeting is the culmination of nearly seven years of hard work by the youth council. they fought and won the right to bring home the remains of children from their tribe, who died at the carlisle indian industrial school in pennsylvania over a century ago. >> jumping through hoop after hoop. it was so long and drawn out.

>> reporter: the process began when her group visited carlisle in 2015 and dared to ask the question, why are our children still here? >> it really hit, like wow, this could be my cousin. this could be my uncle. what if i didn't get to go home? just really, like -- sunk in. what if this was me? >> reporter: the tribe had to request the remains from the u.s. army, which now oversees the carlisle grounds. as part of the repatriation process, the army held a listening session. >> we want to sincerely apologize to you for all of the issues that have led us here today. those things should never have happened. >> reporter: in 2021, after six long years of negotiations, shylee and the youth council were finally able to escort the remains of nine rosebud sioux children home. >> we celebrate the battle of little big horn. we're the only nation to ever

defeat the u.s. army. i like to think of it as us doing it again. ♪ i think we definitely believe that the children are stuck. so i think, now that they're home, they're definitely where they're supposed to be. the children that are buried here are maud little girl. lucy take the tail. alvin brave roaster. one that killed seven horses. dennis strikes first. warren painter and rose longface. they didn't get to grow up. they didn't get to have a family. i really hope that every child gets to come home someday. i hope i get to live to see that. >> reporter: a year later, the permanent gravestones are now in place.

with the children finally home, shylow has turned her attention to other acts of healing. >> make sure you wipe your feet so you don't fall, okay? >> reporter: she's now working at an immersion school, helping restore a crucial part what was has been lost for so many for so long. the native lakota language is being taught to children. >> time to take our spaces back. historically, we were sporesed to be white people. our hair was cut. put into schools. forced to speak english. thinking that we would be successful. then we start speaking english, and still today, there is nothing ever wrong with who we are. >>o set. the school is really important so we can produce speakers as fast as we're losing them. our language is in danger of going to sleep. i feel like, as a lakota person,

it's our job to try and keep it alive. >> reporter: tribal leaders predict the language could be wiped out in ten years' time. >> i entered into teaching to be a native teacher for native children. >> reporter: carmelita sholdus is a first grade teacher here. >> i'm definitely learning along with the students. when i first started last year, a lot of them would wonder why do we have to speak lakota? number one, it's what makes us a federally recognized tribe. and second of all, it's also their cultural identity. but probably most importantly, in order to do our ceremonies, we have to be able to sing and speak in the language to the spirits. so if we don't do that, we can't continue to do our sacred ceremonies.

♪ >> reporter: the immersion school currently teaches kindergarten through second grade, with the hope of expanding each year. >> i kind of see my job as a full-circle moment, from my great grand may going to a boarding school, my grandma going to a boarding school, and not being able to speak the language or even be lakota. my hope for my people in the long 1 is just to regain our sense of identity back and be able to be proud to be lakota. up next, actor chris hemsworth. the superhero on a new quest to unlock real-life superpowers. and the mortal moment that stopped him in his tracks. i'm lindsey vonn, and ever since i retired from skiing, i've had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

you know, insomnia. before i found quviviq, an fda-approved insomnia medication for adults. you would not believe the things i used to think about when i couldn't sleep. hey, linds. i need you to sign this business contract. all 114 pages. lindsey, lindsey!! hey, lindsey! it's workout time. hey, big man, we're in the middle of something here. yeah, it's called physical fitness. just a couple dozen more questions, lindsey. don't forget to pack your phone charger for tomorrow morning's flight. it's plugged in right over there. insomnia can impact both my days and my nights. that's why i take quviviq nightly. quviviq can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, and more sleep at night may mean feeling less tired during the day. quviviq works differently than medication you may have taken in the past. quviviq is thought to target one of the biological causes of insomnia. overactive wake signals. do not take quviviq if you have narcolepsy. don't drink alcohol while taking quviviq or drive or operate heavy machinery until you feel fully alert. quviviq may cause temporary inability to move or talk or hallucinations

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hemsworth is the picture of strength and vitality. so much so, he played a demigod in the movies. now he's starring in a new series where he tests his mind and body in real life. and it led him to an unexpected he sat down with linsey davis. >> i will not fight you, brother! >> i'm not your brother. >> reporter: audiences are no stranger to heart-pounding action and adventure when chris hemsworth is on the screen. >> forgive me, jane. >> reporter: now the star of marvel's "thor" is taking on his toughest challenge yet.

>> you're probably asking yourself why i'm danging off a rope 1,000 feet off the ground. i'm asking the same question. >> reporter: on the new nat geo series "limitless," hemsworth pushes himself to his mental and physical limit, all in the name of longevity. national geographic is a division of disney, abc's parent company. >> what are you thinking? >> oh, nothing, just trying to enjoy the view. be comfortable in a very uncomfortable situation. >> how are you approached about doing "limitless"? >> darren aronofsky called me up and said, i want to do this doc series on longevity. i'm pretty health conscious through my life. a pretty good sense of nutrition. in the space of longevity, it was all incredibly new. and unknown territory for me. >> was there any hesitation? >> i don't think i knew what the show was when i was first asked to do it. initially it was about cold water immersion, doing ice

baths. before i know it, we're flying into norway and i'm swimming in the arctic ocean. >> what was the most challenging? >> each episode was challenging and tough in different ways. the four-day fast, water-only fast, was very intense. especially i come off shooting "thor" where i was continuously eating, having as many calories as i could. climbing the rope. >> what i'm proposing is dangle at the bottom, climb all the way up. >> intimidated. >> the shock episodes, swimming in norway in freezing conditions, that felt like, you know, a thousand ice cream headaches. a lot of it became mental fortitude and trusting the science and the people that were guiding you through these experiences. kind of just, head down and go for it. >> if you push yourself beyond the point you should be coming out, there's real risk you could die. >> the basic idea here is that there's so much new scientific

research about how you can best unlock your own superpowers, right? what did you learn about that unlawful like, hm, there might actually be something here? >> every day was an educational experience for me. and i continue to do a lot of things i learnt throughout the show. being able to share that on a larger platform with many people and have it be something that is easily accessible, to have sort of me be the guinea pig throughout and have people go, okay, cool. we all have the same challenges and stresses. >> was there any aspect that you're like, i'm a real-life superhero? >> no, i don't have the time i was getting to the end, "did we get the shot? i'm not doing it again." >> reporter: despite his seemingly superhuman abilities, the star's biggest discovery was a shocking health secret hidden in his dna. >> when i first started exploring how to live better for

longer, i was sent for a whole list of tests. by longevity expert dr. peter atia. >> so we did sort of the million-dollar workup on you. and overall, your labs looked fantastic. but we did find a couple of things that are a cause for concern. you have an increased risk of alzheimer's disease. >> hm. how much higher? >> probably somewhere between 8 and 10 times higher than that of someone in the general population. >> yeah, right, okay. i don't know, you're constantly thinking you're going to live forever. especially as a young individual. and then to all of a sudden be told, oh, this may be the thing that might take you out was like, whoa. >> but it's my belief that if we take every step possible, we can reduce your risk to that of anyone else. this is going to motivate you to

take steps today that most people your age would never think about until they're in their 50s or 60s. >> sure. sure. i've spent most of my life paying very detailed attention to my health and wellness. but i've never really focused on the health of my brain. this news changes things. >> reporter: after learning about his increased likelihood of developing alzheimer's, 39-year-old hemsworth says he'll be taking a break from hollywood for a while, going home to australia to spend more time with his wife and three children, embracing the joy of family with no limits. >> let's get on with it, shall we? >> our thanks to linsey. you can binge the entire nat geo docuseries "limitless" with chris hemsworth on disney plus. next up, something sweet

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with every-other-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. finally tonight, an act of corn kid kindness.

7-year-old tariq, the tiktok sensation behind "it's corn" viral videos. >> ♪ it's corn i can tell you all about it ♪ teaming up with green giant to donate cans of beloved corn to those in need this thanksgiving. how sweet it is. happy thanksgiving. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.