Mass healing continues after boarding school closes

As leaders of the Department of the Interior and descendants of survivors of the federal Indian Residential School, we entered into our positions in the Biden Administration with a strong commitment to correcting the horrific mistakes of the U.S. government’s past. Last month at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, we joined seniors, survivors and their children as President Joe Biden issued the first-ever apology to indian country for the federal government’s role in this terrible legacy. This moment was truly historic, and Northern California played an important role.

Three years ago our department launched Federal Indian Residential School Initiativea first-of-its-kind commitment to recognize and explore the enduring legacy of federal Indian residential schools. Initiative investigation report detailed the scope and capabilities of these schools and confirmed a loud and clear truth: the federal government isolated children from their families and robbed them of the languages, cultures and traditions fundamental to Indigenous peoples.

Although this history is known and felt throughout Indian Country, the painful memories of it have been largely erased from our history books. For more than 150 years, the federal government operated 417 facilities in 37 states or territories in conjunction with religious institutions, where at least 18,624 children as young as 4 were forced into custody. There were 12 in California alone.

Native American history is American history, and we must acknowledge, reckon with, and heal from our past if we are to build a stronger, more sustainable future for each of us. This includes sharing and bearing our own scars for the good of the world. We traveled for over a year on the “Road to Healing” – 12 visits throughout the country of India, including Federated Indians of Graton Rancheriawhich gave survivors and descendants the opportunity to share their experiences of residential school and the painful consequences these schools left behind.

During our visit, survivors and descendants shared their harrowing experiences of abuse and neglect (many for the first time publicly) in the most egregious conditions. Together we cried, remembered and healed. We thank those of you who shared your stories from the bottom of our hearts. Your experience and the experience of your loved ones are part of our work.

Our investigative report included a list of recommendations to help guide the nation’s healing journey. The first recommendation was an acknowledgment and apology from the federal government. The fact that the President took this step is a demonstration of the influence of Indigenous people who have shared their stories out of a sense of duty to honor the sacrifices of our ancestors.

Now, in response to the report’s sixth recommendation, we are developing collaborative efforts with our partners, including National Native American Residential School Healing Coalition and, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation, to create an oral collection of first-person accounts from residential school survivors. We are finalizing agreements between the Department of the Interior, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the Library of Congress to explore how these oral histories can best become part of large-scale educational resources, such as online, traveling, and long-term exhibitions that will share information. history and legacy of the federal Indian residential school system with the world.

One of the most common requests we heard over and over again at The Road to Healing was the restoration of native languages. In response, we have strengthened grant programs such as Grant program “Living Languages”. And together with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, we are developing a 10-year national plan for native language preservation, which will be published soon. Some of this work is already happening in current boarding schools run by tribes or the Bureau of Indian Education. These schools operate without assimilationist intentions or practices, but instead focus on culturally specific and adapted programs as part of a holistic approach to the mental, physical, religious and cultural aspects of Indigenous students.

We understand that this work will never truly end—that Indigenous people in California and across our country will continue to reckon with the deep-rooted pain and intergenerational trauma that has spread since the days of residential schools. Our work is not finished. But with President Biden’s apology and the federal government’s continued commitment to resolving this story, we can heal the people in tribal communities and heal our nation’s relationship with Native American tribes. We can build a United States that supports each of us. Together we can heal our shared scars and build a future where everyone can thrive.

Deb Haaland is the Secretary of the Interior. Brian Newland is Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.

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