The Wilderness Society’s statement on the Biden administration’s apology on Indian boarding schools

WASHINGTON D.C.(October 25, 2024) - Today, President Biden apologized to Indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations for the forced removal, assimilation, trauma and in some cases death of thousands of Indigenous children from 1819 to 1969.  

In response to today's news, The Wilderness Society's Senior Director of Native Lands Partnerships Starlyn Miller issued the following statement:

"As the granddaughter of Lida May Konkapot who survived forced assimilation assaults at age 11 at Carlisle Indian School and many other relatives who attended federal Indian boarding schools and day schools, today's apology is personal. I thank President Biden for acknowledging the generational harms that these federally funded schools caused on Indigenous cultures and families. I appreciate the President's and Secretary Haaland's leadership on this issue, and I am grateful for the survivors and descendants who bravely shared their testimony on the Road to Healing tour as part of the investigation by the Department of Interior.

"As the Senior Director of The Wilderness Society's Native Land Partnerships, I know we need to go further. Some of these schools - and adjacent children's cemeteries - are located on public lands. We need Congress to pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act so that we have a better accounting of this tragic era, and so that Tribal Nations and the U.S. government can move towards a more hopeful, truthful and reconciled future."

More information on the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act can be found at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition website.

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