Historic step from Biden: He will apologize for the assimilation of Indigenous people

United States President Joe Biden plans to officially apologize for the role of hundreds of boarding schools that, for nearly 150 years, forced Native American children to assimilate, systematically stripping them of their languages and cultures.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Biden, speaking to the press at the White House, stated that he would officially apologize for the role of hundreds of boarding schools that forced Native American children to assimilate.

Biden said, "I am going to the West to issue a formal apology to the Native American nations for the treatment we showed their children for years."

A US PRESIDENT WILL APOLOGIZE FOR THE FIRST TIME

Biden, who is scheduled to officially apologize to Native Americans in the state of Arizona, will deliver this historic speech at a school called "Gila Crossing."

This apology marks the first time a US president has apologized for the treatment endured by tens of thousands of Native American children who were forced to attend boarding schools over the years.

PARTICIPATION OF TRIBAL LEADERS EXPECTED

Many tribal leaders from across the country are expected to join Biden on his trip to Phoenix, including Haaland and Deborah Parker, a citizen of the Tulalip Tribes and President of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe in New Mexico whose grandfather and great-grandfather were also sent to these boarding schools, noted the importance of Biden's apology, stating that for many Native Americans, this apology would be "worth the world."

Haaland said, "I think those who lived through that era personally will feel that they are cared about by Biden. That feeling is something that many people in this country and throughout our history have not experienced."

"THESE SCHOOLS WERE TOOLS OF CULTURAL GENOCIDE"

Stating that an apology from the US government regarding its role in operating the boarding schools has been "long overdue," Parker said, "These schools were tools of assimilation and cultural genocide that led to the loss of language and culture and the separation of children from their families."

Stephen Roe Lewis, Governor of the Gila River Indian Community, said, "Some of our elders who survived these boarding schools have waited their whole lives for this moment."

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WERE FORCED FROM 1819 TO 1996

From 1819 to 1969, the US government operated more than 400 federal Native American boarding schools across 37 states or paid churches and religious groups to run them.

With the passage of the Civilization Fund Act in 1819, laws were enacted to establish and support Indian boarding schools across the US.

Until 1996, Native American children were forced to attend these boarding schools for assimilation.

In the US and Canada, children of the continent's indigenous peoples were required to attend state-funded Christian schools to be assimilated. These children were also forcibly converted to Christianity and were not allowed to speak their own languages.

US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland

News Source: 12punto