President Biden to Apologise for Historical Indian Boarding School Policy Impacting Indigenous Children

President Joe Biden plans to issue a formal apology for the United States' historical role in forcing Indigenous children into boarding schools. These institutions were sites of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, resulting in nearly 1,000 deaths. "I'm doing something I should have 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," Biden stated before departing for Arizona.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is from the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico, expressed her surprise at this development. "I would never have guessed in a million years that something like this would happen," she told The Associated Press. Haaland initiated an investigation into these schools after becoming the first Native American to lead the Interior Department. The investigation revealed that over 18,000 children, some as young as four, were taken from their families to be assimilated into white society.

Impact on Native Communities

The investigation also uncovered nearly 1,000 deaths and 74 gravesites linked to more than 500 schools. This forced removal of children is considered an element of genocide by the United Nations. No previous president has formally apologised for these actions during the over 150 years when the US government aimed to decimate Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian peoples.

Listening sessions and survivor testimonies were part of the Interior Department's efforts. One recommendation from the final report was an official acknowledgment and apology for the boarding school era. Haaland presented this suggestion to Biden, who agreed it was necessary. The White House stated that Biden believes acknowledging past harms is crucial for improving Federal-Tribal relationships.

Historical Context and Future Implications

The policy of forced assimilation began in 1819 with Congress's initiative to "civilise" Native Americans and ended in 1978 with the Indian Child Welfare Act. This law aimed to give tribes a say in child adoption processes. Haaland will accompany Biden during his visit to a tribal nation on Friday, where he will deliver his speech at the Gila River Indian Community near Phoenix.

The apology coincides with political efforts targeting Native American voters in key states like Arizona and North Carolina. "It will be one of the high points of my entire life," Haaland remarked about the upcoming event. The future actions following this apology remain uncertain. The Interior Department continues collaborating with tribal nations to repatriate children's remains on federal lands.

Some tribes face challenges with the U.S. Army regarding compliance with federal laws on returning Native American remains, particularly those still buried at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. described Biden's apology as significant for Native people nationwide.

"Our children were made to live in a world that erased their identities, their culture and upended their spoken language," Hoskin said in his statement. He noted that Oklahoma had 87 boarding schools attended by thousands of Cherokee children, impacting nearly every Cherokee Nation citizen today.

Biden's apology could pave the way for further progress for tribal nations seeking continued federal action. Melissa Nobles, chancellor of MIT and author of *The Politics of Official Apologies*, highlighted that this acknowledgment addresses past wrongs that have been long overlooked but known within communities.