Preserve the Genoa Indian School museum building

Can you help us reach our goals for getting historic preservation work done on the Genoa Indian School museum building?

The Indian Industrial School at Genoa, Nebraska was the 4th largest non-reservation boarding school established by the United States Office of Indian Affairs. The facility opened on February 20, 1884, and, like other federal Indian boarding schools, its mission was to educate Native American children in order to assimilate them into American society. The children who came to the Genoa Indian School were from more than 10 states and over 40 different tribal nations. In time, the school grew from the original 74 students to an enrollment of 599 in a single year and encompassed over 30 buildings on 640 acres. The school was in operation from 1884 through 1934.

The Genoa Indian School Museum is situated in the former manual training building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few original school buildings that remain, and it currently has issues with insects getting into the building, insulation, and temperature and climate regulation. Some murals on the second floor, painted by Native children who attended the school over 100 years ago, were also flagged for preservation work to ensure their integrity for years to come (see images). The Genoa Indian School Foundation will be hiring a trained historic preservation professional to perform a formal assessment of the building's exterior and interior. We are hoping to raise enough funds to perform some historic preservation work after this assessment is complete and to use the funds raised as part of the cash match required in order for us to apply for grant funding to complete additional historic preservation work.

Historic preservation work is expensive since it must be done by trained professionals in a way that preserves historical integrity and meets a variety of building codes and legal statutes. Years ago, the Foundation was told that historic preservation work on just ONE mural would cost roughly $10,000. Our goal is to raise at least $5,000 and as much as $7,500 for the maximum cash match for a grant we hope to apply for to be able to perform the most expensive historic preservation work.

Will you help us?

Please note that you may be able to claim a deduction on your federal taxes if you donate to organizations with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, like the Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation. Visit https://www.usa.gov/donate-to-charity to learn more about claiming a deduction for your donation. You can also mail a donation to us at: Genoa U.S. Indian School Foundation, P.O. Box 382, Genoa, NE 68640. If you mail a donation, please be sure to note that you would like the donation applied to the historic preservation work fundraiser and let us know if you would like to remain anonymous.