Biden Apologizes for U.S. Abuse of Indian Children, Calling It ‘a Sin on Our Soul’,” Peter Baker and Aishvarya Kavl (New York Times 10/25/2024)

President Biden Apologized to Native American families for forced separation of children from their families in the 19th and 20th centuries. I thank our President. His formal apology on behalf of our government helps our people heal and to move forward.

“From the 1800s to the late 1960s, the federal government forced Native American children into boarding schools where they faced abuse and neglect that lead in some cases to death. President Biden offered a formal apology on behalf of our government to Native American families and children harmed by that policy during a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona. President Biden decried what he called “a sin on our soul” and promised to do more to make up for the federal governments’ former policy of forcibly removing Native American children and putting them in boarding schools where they faced abuse and negligence that lead in some cases to death.

“The federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened – until today,” the president told a cheering crowd that included families afflicted by the policy. “I formally apologize as president of the Untied States of America for what we did. I formally apologize. It’s long overdue.

Mr. Biden's visit culminated years of study and discussion by his administration led by Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American interior secretary, whose own family was affected by a practice that lasted from the early 1800s to the late 1960s. An investigative report by her department in July found that at least 19,000 Native children were sent to federal boarding schools, and nearly 1,000 died while attending them.

In addition to an apology, the report called on the federal government to create a national memorial to commemorate the children’s deaths and educate the public; invest in research and help Native communities heal from intergenerational stress and trauma; and revitalize Native languages.

Mr. Biden has signed legislation to invest more than $45 billion in tribal nations, focusing particularly on infrastructure and health systems on reservations. The Gila River Indian Community, located just outside Phoenix, has received more than $80 million in federal funds to build a pipeline to irrigate crops amid drought conditions.

The community’s governor, Stephen Lewis, thanked Mr. Biden onstage. “We’ve never had a president and vice president who have done more for Indian country,” he said.

Doug Kiel, a citizen of the Oneida Nation and a scholar of Northwestern University's Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, said Mr. Biden’s apology was a “significant acknowledgment of the injustices.

“But he added that “true healing demands” more concrete actions, including returning stolen lands, honoring Indigenous sovereignty and fulfilling treaty obligations. “Without such tangible steps, the apology risks remaining a symbolic gesture without fostering real accountability and justice,” he said.…..

Mr. Biden, the fifth sitting president to visit Native American territory, said it was important for Americans to own up to their history even when it is ugly. “We must know the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a nation,” he said. “That’s what great nations do. We’re a great nation; we’re the greatest of nations. We do not erase history, we make history, we learn from history. And we remember so we can heal as a nation.…..

“...We have 90 days left in this administration,” she [Ms. Haaland] said, “and we’re going to work as hard as we possibly can.”