In a historic moment, President Joe Biden is expected to issue a formal apology on Friday, acknowledging the United States’ role in the Indian boarding school system—a practice that inflicted profound trauma on generations of Indigenous children. This will mark the first time a sitting U.S. president has formally apologized for the forced assimilation policies targeting Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children.
The apology comes after Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, launched a comprehensive investigation into the boarding school system. The investigation revealed that at least 18,000 children, some as young as four, were forcibly removed from their families to attend institutions designed to strip them of their cultural identity and assimilate them into Western society. More than 500 schools were involved, resulting in nearly 1,000 documented deaths and 74 burial sites associated with these institutions.
“I would never have guessed in a million years that something like this would happen,” said Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. “It’s a big deal to me. I’m sure it will be a big deal to all of Indian Country.”
Reckoning with a Dark Past
The U.S. boarding school system was part of a broader strategy to dispossess Native American tribes of their lands and eliminate their cultural identity. The policy has been deemed an element of genocide by the United Nations. Survivors of the boarding schools recounted harrowing experiences of cultural erasure, family separation, and abuse. For many, Friday’s apology represents a long-overdue acknowledgment of this painful history.
The second phase of the Interior’s investigation included listening sessions where survivors shared their experiences. The final report recommended that the government formally apologize for the atrocities committed during the boarding school era. Haaland presented this recommendation to President Biden, who agreed on the necessity of issuing an apology.
Haaland, whose own grandparents were subjected to the boarding school system, expressed her deep sense of honor in being part of the effort to bring the apology to fruition. She will join President Biden as he makes his first diplomatic visit to a tribal nation, delivering the historic speech.
The Path Ahead: Apology and Action
While Biden’s apology is seen as a significant step toward healing, questions remain about what actions will follow. The Department of Interior continues to work with tribal nations to repatriate the remains of children buried on federal lands. However, progress has been stalled in some areas, such as the ongoing disputes with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the return of remains still buried at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.
“President Biden’s apology is a profound moment for Native people across this country,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in a statement. He highlighted the long-lasting impact on the Cherokee Nation, noting that Oklahoma was once home to 87 boarding schools where thousands of Cherokee children were forced to attend.
The apology could potentially pave the way for further government action. For many tribal nations, it represents an acknowledgment of historical wrongs that have yet to be fully addressed. “These things have value because it validates the experiences of the survivors and acknowledges they’ve been seen and we heard you,” said Melissa Nobles, Chancellor of MIT and author of The Politics of Official Apologies. Nobles emphasized the importance of recognizing historical injustices to foster reconciliation.
Global Context and Comparisons
Biden’s anticipated apology echoes similar acknowledgments in other countries with histories of subjugating Indigenous peoples. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 2017 apology for the country’s role in its own Indigenous residential schools was followed by the establishment of a truth and reconciliation process, accompanied by billions of dollars in funding to address the lasting damage.
Pope Francis also issued a historic apology in 2022 for the Catholic Church’s involvement in Canada’s residential school system, describing the forced assimilation policies as a “disastrous error” that severed families and destroyed cultures.
Similar gestures have been made elsewhere, such as President Bill Clinton’s 1993 apology to Native Hawaiians for the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for forced removals of children under assimilation policies. In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a formal apology to Indigenous communities in 2022 for historical injustices.
Calls for Continued Action
While the apology is a meaningful step, Indigenous leaders stress that it must be followed by concrete actions. “The apology is an important step, which must be followed by continued action,” Chief Hoskin emphasized, expressing gratitude to both Biden and Haaland for their roles in confronting the country’s troubled past.
As the nation prepares for this historic apology, the road to reconciliation remains challenging. The next steps may involve the establishment of a truth and reconciliation process, similar to Canada’s, as well as continued efforts to address the legacy of the boarding school system and support healing in Native communities.
Friday’s event will be a significant moment in U.S. history, as the country formally reckons with a dark chapter that has long cast a shadow over Indigenous peoples. The apology, while unable to undo the past, acknowledges the injustices suffered and sets the stage for meaningful dialogue and potential reparative actions in the future.
Credit: AP
