President Joe Biden apologizes for Indian boarding school system in Arizona speech
Oct 25, 2024, 12:30 PM
PHOENIX — During a speech in Arizona on Friday, President Joe Biden apologized for the nation’s role in an Indian boarding school system that forced the removal of children from their families.
Biden, speaking at the Gila River Indian Community on the outskirts of metro Phoenix, called the system “a sin on our soul.”
“I formally apologize as the president of the United States of America for what we did,” Biden said. “It’s long overdue.”
Biden apologized for the Indian boarding school system, the first U.S. president to do so. pic.twitter.com/fOKXwZmPK4
— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) October 25, 2024
The program forced the removal of Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children from their homes and put them into federal boarding schools to assimilate them into white society between 1871 and 1969.
A report released in July from Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Department of the Interior, said that at least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents. Many were physically, emotionally and sexually abused.
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In addition, nearly 1,000 deaths and 74 gravesites associated with the more than 500 schools were documented.
Biden called for a moment of silence for the families still dealing with the trauma from the program.
“The pain that it caused will always be a significant mark of shame, a blot on American history,” Biden said.
Indian boarding school system hits home for Haaland
Haaland, born on the Navajo Nation in Winslow, personally felt the effects of the boarding school system.
Her grandparents were forced to attend a boarding school. Nearly 50 federal Indian boarding schools were in Arizona, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Haaland, who spoke before the president, was brought to tears when discussing the apology from Biden.
“Today’s event would not have happened without each and every one of you,” Haaland said. “Without those who have spoken up, who have shared their pain and have been vocal in the face of injustice. Together, we have persevered.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, who was also in attendance, also called the apology long overdue.
“This apology is a powerful reminder of the resilience of Indigenous peoples and the importance of striving to live up to our highest ideals as a nation,” Kelly said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, in attendance for the apology, applauded Biden and Haaland for their efforts in bringing justice to the issue.
“President Biden’s formal apology, and the leadership shown by Secretary Haaland on the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, is a long overdue, important step forward in acknowledging the United States’ darker history and generations of harm done,” Stanton said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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