Biden apologizes for the ‘sin’ of 150 years of boarding school policy during his first visit to Indian Country

LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. – President Joe Biden formally apologized to Native Americans on Friday for the “sin” of a government-run boarding school system that separated Indian children from their parents for decades, calling it a “stain on American history.” his first visit to Indian Country.

“It’s a sin to our souls,” Biden said, his voice full of anger and emotion. “Frankly, there is no excuse that it took 50 years to make this apology.”

It was a moment of both remorse and frustration as the president tried to acknowledge one of the “most horrific chapters” in the national story. Biden spoke about the abuse and deaths of indigenous children that resulted from federal government policies, noting that “while the darkness may hide much, it erases nothing” and that great nations must “share the good and the bad know the truth of who we are. .”

“As president of the United States of America, I apologize for what we did,” Biden said. “The Federal Indian Boarding School policy – ​​the pain it has caused – will only be a significant mark of shame, a stain on our history. For too long, all this happened without any public attention, it was not written about in our history books, it was not taught in our schools.”

Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community lands on the edge of the Phoenix metro area will also boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise in a key battleground state. The moment gave Biden a bigger opportunity to highlight his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that has historically favored Democrats, in a state he won by just 10,000 votes in 2020.

The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be equally close, with both campaigns doing everything they can to improve turnout among core supporters.

“The race is now a matter of turnout,” said Mike O’Neil, a nonpartisan pollster from Arizona. “The trend lines have been remarkably stable throughout the period. The question is which candidate will be able to convince his voters in a race that seems destined to be decided within narrow margins.”

Biden has been used sparingly on the campaign trail by Harris and other Democrats since he ended his re-election campaign in July.

But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal to Native American voters — a group that has lagged behind others in turnout.

In 2020, there was a surge in voter turnout in a tribal area in Arizona as Biden defeated Trump and became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden, whose presidency is coming to an end, had promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian country.

According to the White House, federal boarding schools were used for decades to assimilate children into white society. Not everyone thought the apology was enough.

“An apology is a good start, but it is neither a true reckoning nor an adequate remedy for the long history of colonial violence,” said Chase Iron Eyes, director of the Lakota People’s Law Project and the Sacred Defense Fund.

The Alaska Federation of Natives, which includes 177 federally recognized tribes, 154 village corporations, nine regional corporations and nine regional nonprofits and tribal consortia in Alaska, said in a statement Friday that it welcomed Biden’s apology for “a policy that created deep-seated conflicts has caused’. trauma across generations.”

AFN President Ben Mallott said Biden’s apology was “an important step forward, but it must be accompanied by meaningful actions to address the lingering effects of these historic injustices. This includes revitalizing our languages ​​and cultures and bringing home our Indigenous children who have not yet returned so they can rest with their families and in their communities.”

At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s abusive boarding school system during a 150-year period ending in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for an apology from the U.S. government.

At least 18,000 children, some as young as four years old, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that tried to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally drawing attention to the issue and other issues impacting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school survivor and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think this will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope this momentum will continue.”

The Alaska Federation of Natives said it “encourages all levels of government to be actively engaged with Native communities.”

“It is essential that our voices are heard and that lessons from our past lead to meaningful change,” the group said.

Democrats have stepped up outreach to Native American communities.

Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, met with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. And Clinton, who has served as a surrogate for Harris, met with the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe last week in North Carolina.

The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is locked in a competitive race with Republican Kari Lake for the open Arizona Senate seat, has visited all of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes.

Harris recently kicked off a campaign rally in Chandler, near the Gila River Reservation, with a shoutout to the tribe’s leader. Walz will visit the Navajo Nation in Arizona on Saturday.

The White House says Biden and Harris have built a substantial record of success with Native Americans over the past four years.

The president designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona as national monuments and restored the boundaries for Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

In addition, the government has earmarked nearly $46 billion in federal spending for tribal nations. The money has helped bring electricity to a reservation that never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve water treatment, build roads and more.

Biden chose former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as his Interior Secretary, the first Native American appointed to a Cabinet position. Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.

She in turn ordered a comprehensive review in June 2021 of the troubled legacy of the federal government’s boarding school policy, which prompted Biden to issue the formal apology.

Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said both Harris and Trump’s campaigns — and their allies — have put a remarkable amount of effort into microtargeting in Arizona.

“They’re doing everything they can to see if they can get a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of those groups that Harris hopes will up their game and help make a difference.”

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Associated Press writer Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, contributed to this report.