October 25, 2024 – Today, President Joe Biden issued a historic apology for the painful legacy of Indian boarding schools—a system that sought to erase the identities of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children. This policy, in place from 1819 to 1969, forced assimilation, bringing deep trauma and loss to our communities.
In June 2021, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) launched an investigation into the federal Indian boarding school system. The findings revealed 417 institutions across 37 states, where many children suffered abuse, and over 973 children tragically died. The investigation found at least 74 marked and unmarked burial sites were identified.
This year’s report outlines a path to healing, including a national memorial to honor these children and a formal apology to begin healing for those impacted. Today, we remember, acknowledge, and hope for a future where history is told honestly and healing can begin.
Our Center is home to a majority Indigenous faculty, staff, and students. Many of us have personal stories of ancestors enduring the Boarding School system in the US and Residential Schools in Canada. Our research shows the lingering impacts on our people’s health across generations. Yet, we are proud of our continuance and survivance as Indigenous Peoples.
Today’s comments by President Biden bring mixed emotions. There is a sense of heaviness, hope, anxiety, and pride. Pride in being Indigenous, pride in working together, and pride in resisting systems that oppress our ways.
We invite our colleagues and friends to mark this historic occasion. Connect with family, coworkers, or friends, or spend time alone if needed. Non-Native allies may feel urgency or guilt, but we all have a role in the healing process. We are all affected by this momentous event, and we hope we can share in ways that feel right for us.
These resources and networks for Indigenous communities and allies can help us to connect and navigate today and beyond.
- Walking Together: First Nations, Métis and Inuit Perspectives on healing historical trauma
- Illuminative Allyship Toolkit
- Urban Native Collective Allyship Toolkit
Media Contact
Crystal Austin, Director of External Affairs: ckee1@jh.edu