In a historic speech today, President Joe Biden offered a formal apology to Native communities for the U.S. government’s Indian Boarding Schools policies.
The apology marked the first time a president has acknowledged the injustice of the assimilation the U.S. government tried to impose through Indian boarding schools. It resulted in widespread, horrific abuses that Native children endured, and the inter-generational harm that continues today.
“I know no apology can or will make up for what was lost during the darkness of the federal boarding school policies. But today, we’re finally moving forward into the light,” Biden said.
“We welcome this long overdue step by the government to acknowledge and apologize for the atrocities committed against Indigenous children, families, and nations through the Indian Boarding Schools,” said Bridget Moix, FCNL general secretary.
Biden’s apology comes after recent investigations by the Interior Department and the Washington Post exposed more details of these abuses.
“It’s a big deal to me,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, said of the apology. “I’m sure it will be a big deal to all of Indian Country.”
This historic step is also a testament to the tireless advocacy of folks across the FCNL community to call attention to this issue and support Native-led efforts to pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 1723; H.R. 7227).
While the Biden administration’s steps to address these harms are laudable, lawmakers must follow suit by passing this bill.
As Moix said, “after an apology must also come action.” Only Congress can fulfill the federal government’s responsibility to uncover the truth and materially address the harm caused to Native communities.
“We hope that President Biden’s leadership will inspire legislators to continue the work of truth, healing, and justice,” said Rachel Overstreet, FCNL’s legislative representative for Native American advocacy.
Tell Congress: It’s time to deliver the truth, justice, and healing that Native communities deserve!
Elsewhere
No New Weapons to Israel
FCNL and CIVIC co-led a sign-on letter with over 100 other organizations urging senators to pass the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) to block the sale of new offensive weapons to Israel.
The United States must stop sending bombs and munitions that the Israeli government has used to kill thousands of civilians in Gaza. This is a moral necessity and, according to credible reports, required by international law.
These resolutions are vital leverage for Congress to bring about a permanent ceasefire across the region as suffering in North Gaza continues to deepen and threat of a major regional war grows. That is why we shifted the focus of Quaker Public Policy Institute (QPPI) this year to lobby for these JRDs. There is still time to join us, in person or online: register today!
Coalition asks Biden Administration to Release Unclassified Ukraine Strategy
On Tuesday, a coalition led by FCNL and the Quincy Institute sent a letter urging the Biden administration to release an unclassified plan laying out U.S. strategy toward the war in Ukraine. As FCNL’s Ursala Knudsen-Latta put it, President Biden’s refusal to release this congressionally mandated plan “hampers the public’s ability to know what their government is doing and to hold their government accountable to their values.” Any U.S. strategy must include robust diplomatic efforts to help end this devastating war.
New from FCNL this week
- FCNL’s Jackson Malkus shows us how we can listen to Voices from the West Bank as he covered an event hosted last week by Friends Place.
- Hadiya Afzal, FCNL’s diaspora organizer, reports about the community created in the second diaspora gathering that FCNL hosted. “Solidarity and advocacy aren’t abstract nouns. They are grounded in the material and lived experiences of our organizers, our communities, and our world,” she writes.
- Last week, FCNL’s Amelia Kegan traveled with NETWORK’s Nuns on the Bus and Friends tour, a nonpartisan bus trip to mobilize voters to support democracy. Read more about her experience traveling through Arizona, Nevada, and California.
