Native Americans laud Biden for historic apology over boarding schools. They want action to follow

LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. (AP) — President Joe Biden did thing Friday that nary different sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for nan systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children endured successful boarding schools astatine nan hands of nan national government.

For 150 years nan U.S. removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them distant to nan schools, wherever they were stripped of their cultures, histories and religions and beaten for speaking their languages.

“We should beryllium ashamed,” Biden said to a crowd of Indigenous group gathered astatine nan Gila River Indian Community extracurricular of Phoenix, including tribal leaders, survivors and their families. Biden called nan government-mandated strategy that began successful 1819 “one of nan astir horrific chapters successful American history,” while acknowledging nan decades of maltreatment inflicted upon children and widespread devastation near behind.

For galore Native Americans, nan long-awaited apology was a invited acknowledgment of nan government’s longstanding culpability. Now, they say, words must beryllium followed up by action.

Bill Hall, 71, of Seattle, was 9 erstwhile he was taken from his Tlingit organization successful Alaska and forced to be a boarding school, wherever he endured years of beingness and intersexual maltreatment that lead to galore much years of shame. When he first heard that Biden was going to apologize, he wasn’t judge he would beryllium capable to judge it.

“But, arsenic I was watching, tears began to travel from my eyes,” Hall said. “Yes, I judge his apology. Now, what tin we do next?”

Rosalie Whirlwind Soldier, a 79-year-old national of nan Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said she felt “a tingle successful my heart” and was gladsome nan humanities incorrect was being acknowledged. Still, she remains saddened by nan irreversible harms done to her people.

Whirlwind Soldier suffered terrible mistreatment astatine a schoolhouse successful South Dakota that near her pinch a lifelong, achy limp. The Catholic-run, government-subsidized installation took distant her religion and tried to stamp retired her Lakota personality by cutting disconnected her agelong braids, she said.

“Sorry is not enough. Nothing is capable erstwhile you harm a quality being,” she said. “A full procreation of group and our early was destroyed for us.”

The schools were designed some to assimilate Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children and to dispossess tribal nations of their land, according to an Interior Department investigation launched by Secretary Deb Haaland, nan first Native American to lead nan agency.

Introducing Biden connected Friday, Haaland said that while nan general apology is an acknowledgement of a acheronian chapter, it is besides a ceremony of Indigenous resilience: “Despite everything that happened, we are still here.”

Haaland, a national of nan Pueblo of Laguna, commissioned nan investigation successful 2021. It documented nan cases of much than 18,000 Indigenous children, of whom 973 were killed. Both nan study and independent researchers opportunity nan wide number was overmuch higher.

The study came pinch respective recommendations taken from nan grounds of schoolhouse survivors, including resources for intelligence wellness curen and connection revitalization programs.

Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis noted that Biden has pledged to make bully connected those recommendations.

“This lays nan model to reside nan boarding schoolhouse policies of nan past,” he said.

Benjamin Mallott, president of nan Alaska Federation of Natives, who is Lingít, said successful a connection that nan apology must beryllium accompanied by meaningful actions: “This includes revitalizing our languages and cultures and bringing location our Native children who person not yet been returned, truthful they tin beryllium laid to remainder pinch their families and successful their communities.”

That position is shared by Victoria Kitcheyan, chairwoman of nan Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which sued nan U.S. Army successful January seeking nan return of nan remains of 2 children who died astatine nan Carlisle Indian Industrial School successful Pennsylvania.

“That treatment doesn’t commencement until tribes person a pathway to bring their children location to beryllium laid to rest,” Kitcheyan said.

In an question and reply Thursday, Haaland said Interior is still moving pinch respective tribal nations to repatriate nan remains of respective children who were killed and buried astatine a boarding school.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who introduced a measure past twelvemonth to found a truth and treatment committee to reside nan harms caused by nan boarding schoolhouse system, called nan apology “a historical measurement toward long-overdue accountability for nan harms done to Native children and their communities.”

And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who is vice president of nan Senate Committee connected Indian Affairs, besides commended Biden while saying it reinforces nan request for a truth and treatment commission.

“This acknowledgement of nan symptom and injustices inflicted upon Indigenous communities — while agelong overdue — is an highly important measurement toward healing,” Murkowski said successful a statement.

As Biden spoke, hundreds of tribal members roseate to their feet, pinch galore signaling nan infinitesimal connected their phones. Some wore accepted garments, and others had shirts supporting Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

There was a infinitesimal of silence, nan general apology and past an eruption of applause.

At nan extremity of Biden’s remarks, nan crowd stood again, chanting “Thank you, Joe.”

Hall, nan boarding schoolhouse subsister successful Seattle, and others person agelong been advocating for resources to redress nan harm. He worries that tribal nations will proceed to struggle pinch treatment unless nan authorities steps up, and he sees a agelong roadworthy yet ahead.

“It took a life to get here. It’s going to return a life to get to nan different side,” he said. “And that’s nan very sad portion of it. I won’t spot it successful my generation.”

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Associated Press writer Matthew Brown successful Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.