President Joe Biden will deliver a formal apology on Friday for the government-run Indian boarding school system that forcibly separated generations of Native American children from their families. He is set to make this statement at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona.
“I’m going to do something that should have happened a long time ago: apologize to the Indian nations for the treatment of their children over the years,” Biden told reporters on Thursday. “That’s why I’m going to the West.”
Joining him in Phoenix will be Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve in a Cabinet position, and Deborah Parker, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Haaland shared that members of her own family were affected by the boarding school system and referred to Biden as “the best president for Indian Country in my lifetime.” She emphasized the importance of acknowledging this painful history, stating, “For decades, this terrible chapter was hidden from our history books, but now our administration’s work will ensure that no one will ever forget.”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. called the apology “long-overdue” and emphasized the need for ongoing action, such as efforts to preserve Native languages and repatriate ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. “President Biden’s apology is a profound moment for Native people across this country,” Hoskin remarked. “I commend the President for recognizing the pain and suffering inflicted on tribes and boarding school survivors.”
From 1819 to at least 1969, U.S. policy established and supported Indian boarding schools aimed at forcibly assimilating American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children. Many students faced abuse, and some did not survive their time at these institutions.
In June 2021, Haaland initiated an effort to investigate the federal Indian boarding school system and its traumatic legacy. An initial report published in 2022 revealed that hundreds of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children died while attending these government-supported schools. A second volume of the report was released this year, detailing that the boarding school system included 417 institutions across 37 states or territories and identified at least 973 child fatalities. The report also documented 74 burial sites, both marked and unmarked, at 65 school locations.
The recent findings urged the federal government to establish a national memorial to honor the experiences of those affected by the boarding school system and to issue apologies to those harmed by these policies.
