Biden apologizes for ‘sin’ of 150-year-old boarding school policy on first visit to Indian country

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

“It’s a sin on our souls,” Biden said, his voice full of anger and emotion. “Honestly honestly, there’s no excuse that the apology took 50 years.”

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

“I formally apologize as president of the United States of America for what I did,” Biden said. “India’s federal boarding school policy – ​​the pain it has caused will only be a significant mark of shame, a stain on our record history. For too long, all this has happened without any public attention, not written about in our history books, not taught in our schools.”

Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community’s grounds on the edge of the Phoenix metro area will also give a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state. The moment gave Biden a fuller chance 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 just as close, and both campaigns are doing everything they can to improve voter turnout among grassroots supporters.

“The race is now a turnout,” said Mike O’Neil, a nonpartisan Arizona pollster. “Trend lines have been remarkably consistent. The question is which candidate will be able to bring voters in a race that appears destined to be decided by 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 trailed others in turnout rates.

In 2020, there was a surge in turnout in Arizona’s tribal turf as Biden defeated Trump to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden, whose presidency is winding down, promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian Country.

For decades, federal boarding schools have been used to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House. Not everyone thought the apology was enough.

“An apology is a nice start, but it is not a true reckoning, nor is it a sufficient 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 nonprofit and tribal consortia in Alaska, said in a statement Friday that it welcomes Biden’s apology for “a policy that caused a deep politics. traumas across generations.”

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

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

At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that tried to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally bringing attention to the issue and other issues affecting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school survivor and charter member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think that will reflect well on Vice President Harris and I hope that momentum continues.”

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

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

Democrats have stepped up their outreach to Native American communities.

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

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 Arizona’s open Senate seat, has visited all 22 federally recognized tribes in Arizona.

Harris recently kicked off a campaign rally in Chandler, near the site of the Gila River Reservation, with a shout-out to the tribal leader. Walz is scheduled to go to the Navajo Nation in Arizona on Saturday.

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

The President designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada and the 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 administration directed nearly $46 billion in federal spending to tribal nations. The money helped bring electricity to a reservation that never had electricity, expand high-speed Internet access, improve water sanitation, build roads and more.

Biden picked former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as 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 troubling legacy of the federal government’s boarding school policies that led to Biden’s formal apology.

Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said both the Harris and Trump campaigns — and their allies — have made a remarkable effort at micro-targeting in Arizona.

“They’re pulling out every stop just to see if they can wrangle a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of those groups that Harris hopes will over-perform and help make a difference.”

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