Interior Secretary Deb Haaland applauds Biden apology for Indigenous boarding schools
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
For more than a century, from the early 1800s to the 1960s, Indigenous children were taken from their tribes -- sometimes forcibly from their homes -- to attend government assimilation boarding schools. On Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden will issue a formal apology from the U.S. government to impacted communities.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold a Cabinet position, says her grandparents and mother were among those shipped off to these schools: "I understand that history," she told host Brad Mielke on Friday's episode of "Start Here," ABC News’ flagship daily news podcast.
"The children got to these boarding schools. They were stripped of their clothing. Their hair was cut. They were forbidden to speak their native languages and were beat if they did," said Haaland.
Haaland went on a reservation listening tour to hear from tribal elders and descendants of people who attended these schools as part of a federal investigation into the government's boarding school programs and the reported physical and emotional abuse as well as death that took place.
MORE: As recently discovered unmarked Indigenous graves in Canada nears 1,000, activists demand justice
She also investigated those who never made it home, and found that hundreds of children had been buried at unmarked sites far away from their homes.
As part of her investigation, Haaland put together a list of recommendations, the first of which is to issue a formal acknowledgment and apology from the U.S. government.
President Biden told White House reporters Thursday that he’s going to Arizona “to do something that should have been done a long time ago."
“To make a formal apology to the Indian nations for the way we treated their children for so many years,” he said. “That’s why I’m going. That’s why I’m heading west.”
Haaland told "Start Here" that an apology is the first step in working toward a remedy to the trauma and pain.
"Quite frankly, Native American history is American history, so it's important for the survivors and the descendants, I believe, to feel that they are seen."
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Damn formatting. At least it's better than reading/looking at the "I HATES" stuff.
Wonder what Captain Richard Pratt would have to say 'bout this.
The Nations/Tribes/Clans/Chapters - Native people have been asking for this apology for many, many years.
I'm actually looking forward to seeing/hearing how the "Apology" will come out and what words will be used.
They've got a lot to apologize for.
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I agree it is long overdue.
I'm from Montgomery and Bucks Counties in PA where nearly all of the rivers, lakes and creeks are the same Indian names they were before the British came. Roads, schools and school districts all named after the Delaware/Lenape, the Susquehannock, the Iroquois Confederacy and Shawnee tribes. I remember that the Carlisle Indian Industrial school became part of the US Army War college at Carlisle 1920 ish. There was a plague or two still on the buildings that survived to the 1960's.
But will it be enough of an apology coming from a Democrat?
Don't care if it comes from a Repub or Dem/Lib - the apology is well, well past due.
What I want to see is if the U.S. is gonna follow Canada's path of talking shyte and doing nothing 'bout it.
Will the U.S. government turn to the "religious" community, that they contracted to "manage" the boarding schools, and demand that the "religious" folks, who caused the damage, get off their holy azzes and start working on the steps needed. Will Congress step up and attempt to start making amends to the thousands/millions of Native families who were brutally abused?
Doubt it.
As expected, it was appreciated but deemed not enough.
The list of demands is doable, however.
Canada has continued its investigations into the burial sites, issued a public apology 16 years ago and has paid so far 2.8 billion dollars in reparations. So much for "talking shyte and doing nothing bout it."
YOUR apology would be appropriate.
One of the darkest moments in American history. The physical and emotional toll that the schools took on the children and their families cannot be measured. They cannot break us, in the words of the Red Nation:
WE ARE STILL HERE
Wahpeton Indian School, 1948 to 1953
Wahpeton, ND
Having sustained resiliency in the face of ongoing wrongdoing, especially when perpetrated by those supposedly acting as an advocate, is the definition of courage.
Be proud, my friend, in knowing your example is a timeless example for us all. Particularly those of us, who in our largesse, have benefited from the sins of our predecessors. As always, Peace.
And, we ARE NOT invisible.
NO, we are not invisible.