Markey Joins Warren, Davids, Cole Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Seek Healing for Stolen Native Children and Their Communities

“The
Indian Boarding School Policies are a stain in America’s history, and it’s long
overdue that the federal government reckon with this history and its legacy.
These policies and practices caused unimaginable suffering and trauma for
survivors, victims, and the thousands of Native families who remain impacted by
them. This is why Congresswoman Davids, Congressman Cole, and I are introducing
legislation that would establish a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian
Boarding School Policies. This Commission would formally investigate the past
wrongs of the federal government’s attempts to terminate the cultures,
religions, and languages of Native communities and respond to the ongoing
historical and intergenerational trauma devastating tribal communities today,” said Senator Warren. 

“The U.S.
Indian Boarding School Policies stripped children from their families and their
cultures—actions that continue to impact Native American, Alaska Native, and
Native Hawaiian communities today. Our country must do better to acknowledge
its legacy and understand the full truth of these policies,” said Representative Davids.
“This commission is a critical step to allow Native families and communities to
begin to heal from the intergenerational trauma. I am proud to introduce this
bill in the House alongside Congressional Native American Caucus Co-Chair Tom
Cole and our colleagues.”

“Establishing
the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy will provide
an important step toward resolving and healing from one of our nation’s darkest
periods,” said
Congressman Cole, Co-Chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus.
“While we cannot erase this difficult chapter in our history, studying and
understanding the societal, cultural and personal impact of forcibly removing
Native American and Alaskan Native children from their homes, families,
communities and heritage for nearly a century is certainly worth investigating.
I am proud to support the creation of this investigative commission to provide
answers for these communities.”

The
National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) endorses The Truth and Healing Commission
on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States Act:

“We are
in a moment in history where the wound of unresolved grief from Indian boarding
schools is being ripped wide open. The truth is being unearthed and yet so much
more is still unknown. It is time for a federal Truth Commission to provide
answers to the thousands of relatives of those children who were taken, went
missing, or died at these schools. The Truth and Healing Commission on U.S.
Indian Boarding School Policies will be the beginning of profound healing for
the Indigenous Peoples of this country.” – Christine
Diindiisi McCleave, CEO of the National Native American Boarding School Healing
Coalition (NABS) & Citizen of Turtle Mountain Ojibwe Nation

The
Indian Boarding School Policies were implemented by the federal government to
strip American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children of their Indigenous
identities, beliefs, and languages by forcibly removing children from their
tribal lands and families. According to NABS, it is estimated that by 1926, nearly
83 percent of AI/AN children, as young as 3 years old, were enrolled in one of
at least 367 currently known Indian boarding schools across 30 states,
resulting in human rights violations, including spiritual, physical,
industrial, psychological, and sexual abuse, neglect, and trauma. The full
effects of the Indian Boarding School Policies have never been appropriately
addressed, resulting in long-standing historical and intergenerational trauma,
cycles of violence and abuse, disappearance, premature deaths, and additional
undocumented psychological trauma. 

Furthermore,
the residual impact of the Indian Boarding School Policies remains evident in a
lack of culturally inclusive and affirming curricula and historically
inaccurate representation of Native people, history, and contributions. For
generations, the federal government has failed to reckon with this history, or
its legacy and the ongoing historical and intergenerational trauma. The Truth and Healing Commission
on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act is an attempt to address this
disgraceful chapter in history and begin healing for Native communities.

The
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United
States Act is
supported by a broad coalition of tribal nations, tribal organizations,
educators, and human rights groups. 

“The
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the U.S. Act
would provide an important avenue for an investigation about the losses that
occurred through the Indian Boarding School Policies and the lasting
consequences of the violence of this attempted genocide. Only through a formal
investigation which includes meaningful consultation with Tribal Nations and
significant input from survivors and their descendants, can the US begin to
reconcile with the past and can tribal communities begin to move toward healing
from the egregious abuses which occurred,” Juana
Majel Dixon, NCAI Board Secretary and Traditional Councilwoman of the Pauma
Band of Mission Indians, stated in a written statement. “National
Congress of American Indians commends the bipartisan efforts of Senator Warren
and Representatives Davids and Cole to address the systematic destruction of
tribal cultures and communities, something which is long overdue.”

“The
National Indian Child Welfare Association greatly appreciates the efforts of
Senator Warren and Representatives Davids and Cole to introduce the Truth and
Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. As we witness the
international shock and outrage at the identification of mass burial sites and
unmarked graves of Indigenous children in Canada who were residents of
residential schools, we see the parallels to the boarding school era in the
United States and the accounts from survivors of the horrific abuse they
experienced. The legacy of those policies and practices is evident in Native
communities today. This legislation is critical to exposing the truth about the
individual and collective trauma that was imposed upon Native communities and
furthering the process of healing for all Native people.” – National Indian Child Welfare
Association

“Native
communities have suffered loss of traditional thought and philosophy, culture,
language, identity, land, and resources since 1491. The purpose of the act is
respected, however over 500 years of broken promises and failures to uphold the
trust responsibility will require more than just written policies. For this act
to make effective and lasting change, Native communities and the US government
MUST communicate, collaborate, and trust to determine the most appropriate ways
for healing to begin for Native people. ​We are encouraged by Secretary of
the Interior Deb Haaland’s announcement on June 22, 2021 of the Federal Indian
Boarding School Initiative, and this codification in law of such an initiative
will ensure that this investigation and documentation continues under future
administrations.” – National
Indian Education Association (NIEA)

“The
Office of Hawaiian Affairs thanks Senator Warren, Representative Davids, and
Representative Cole for introducing this bill to begin addressing the more than
two-hundred-year history of American assimilation policies and practices that
the federal government adopted in its treatment of generations of Native
Americans, including Native Hawaiians. We are particularly appreciative of the
bill’s inclusion of Native Hawaiians in the Commission’s scope and on the
Advisory Committee with at least two representatives of our community. We look
forward to working with Senator Warren to not only bring to light the history
of what happened in the Indian Boarding Schools and the boarding and day
schools in Hawai‘i, but also take steps to address the lasting effects and
inequities that these policies continue to have on Native children and
communities across the country,” stated
Carmen Hulu Lindsey, Chair, Board of Trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

“The
American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which comprises the
nation’s 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities, commends Senator Elizabeth Warren
(D-MA), Congresswoman Sharice Davids (D-KS), and Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK)
for their leadership in proposing a long overdue commission to study, document,
and identify strategies for addressing the continuing traumatic impacts of the
federal government’s Indian boarding school policy. As TCUs, we believe
strongly in the power of place-based and Tribal Nation-focused education rising
from within us – from our own culture and language and connected to the air,
land, water around us. That is the foundation of our future. But we cannot move
forward unless we acknowledge and address all aspects of our past, including
centuries of oppression, segregation, and even annihilation – the legacy of the
boarding school experience. This landmark legislation will provide much-needed
support for our transformative journey of healing, knowledge creation, and
identity.” – Carrie
L. Billy, AIHEC President and CEO, American Indian Higher Education Consortium 

“USET
SPF continues to insist that the United States atone for centuries of sins
against Tribal Nations and Native people. Our hearts remain heavy with the
weight of lasting intergenerational trauma caused by the horrors our ancestors
faced at U.S.-run boarding schools. Hundreds of thousands of Native children
were forcibly removed from their people and lost their culture, language,
innocence-even their lives-at the hands of the federal government. The time is
long overdue for the federal government and the American people to engage in
honest reconciliation with the atrocities of the past, so that we can all move
forward as citizens of a more just and honorable nation. Rep. Congresswoman
Davids’ and Senator Warren’s bill would not only provide an opportunity for
this reckoning, it would also provide for the examination of modern-day
assimilationist policies resulting in the continued theft of Native children
from their Tribal communities. We offer our full support to this
legislation.” – Chief
Kirk Francis, President, United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection
Fund

“Federally
funded boarding schools ripped AI/AN children from their families and their
Tribal communities and contributed to the urbanization of AI/AN populations.
Today, over 70% of AI/AN people reside in urban areas, but only 1% of all
Indian Health Service funding is for urban Indian health. We are pleased to see
Senator Warren, Congresswoman Davids, and Congressman Cole introduce this
legislation to create a commission to begin to heal the decades of historical
trauma inflicted on our people and hope this will usher in a new era where the
trust responsibility is better upheld to all Indigenous people.” – Francys Crevier (Algonquin),
CEO, National Council for Urban Indian Health

“I thank
Representative Davids and Cole and Senator Warren for amplifying the voices of
boarding school survivors who speak truth to the grave injustices and
intergenerational harm caused by the United States,” said Abigail Echo-Hawk
(Pawnee), Executive Vice President of the Seattle Indian Health Board and
Director of the Urban Indian Health Institute. “These are the people
that need to lead this effort. The ‘Truth and Healing Commission’ is a step
forward, and we need to see more like it in order for our communities to heal.” 

“The time
for this bill has long been coming since the founding of this country. It is time
for the light to shine in the dark spaces of this country’s origins, its
present reckoning, and the future of its soul as a country based on truth,
justice, and healing. Will we live up to this aspiration?  Are we capable
of doing so?  This bill gives us the opportunity to begin to do so. As
Alaska Natives our story is inextricably linked to all of our Indigenous
relatives across this country. Every person freely brought to this country has
benefited because of what has been done and is being done to our peoples, and
worse our precious children bore the brunt of these atrocities. We need
justice, we need love, and we need all those who now call this country home to
stand beside us. Let us find all our children, bring them home, and help this
country live up to its ideals and its promises to our Native Peoples.” – La quen náay Liz Medicine
Crow (Haida/Tlingit), President/CEO, First Alaskans Institute

“Today at
Red Cloud, we openly acknowledge our institution was, at one point, explicitly
involved in the destruction of the Lakota culture, language, and spirituality
it now seeks to celebrate and revitalize. It is beyond time this nation
acknowledges and reckons with the historical injustices experienced by
Indigenous peoples due to the federal Indian Boarding School policy. Healing is
made possible when harm is admitted with unflinching honesty and work is done
to right historical wrongs. The Truth and Healing Commission marks the
beginning of a much-needed process in our nation. It is a process that we at Red
Cloud Indian School have already begun locally. Our sincere hope is that this
commission will spread awareness of this history, bring people to deeper
understanding, and heal our community and Indigenous people across the
country.” – Statement
from Red Cloud Indian School on the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian
Boarding School Policies in the United States Act

“Having
run several boarding schools for American Indian and Alaska Native students
ourselves, the Jesuits would welcome the opportunity to work with a federal
Commission to shine the light of truth on this part of our own, and our
country’s, history. We participated fully with Canada’s Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which has proven an important step on the road
towards right relationship with Indigenous peoples. A similar Commission is
likewise essential in this country. We are greatly encouraged by the
introduction of this bill and ask all members of Congress to support it.” – Fr. Ted Penton, SJ, Secretary
of Justice and Ecology, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States

“We
cannot wait any longer. Our families have been suffering for too long. The
Association on American Indian Affairs supports the Truth and Healing
Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act so that we – as a nation –
can finally begin the process of uncovering, accepting and healing from the
forced assimilation and genocidal policies that our country once believed in.
We must speak truth to these great harms of the past so that it never happens
again to anyone’s children.” – Shannon
O’Loughlin, CEO AAIA

“The
American Indian Catholic Schools Network believes this commission is an
essential step for a meaningful movement of truth and healing. AICSN is honored
to partner with NABS and other key players in this work as we commit each day
to this work.” – American
Indian Catholic Schools Network (AICSN)

“The
historical trauma resonating from this painful time in our collective history
is not fully known by those outside of the American Indian community. The Inter
Tribal Association of Arizona (ITAA) supports Senator Warren and Representative
Davids in their efforts to bring healing to every American Indian family that
still has the painful effects the Federal government’s Indian boarding school
policies. The “Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School
Policies in the United States Act,” will create the pathway forward for
national dialogue to take place and hopefully for the eventual healing of
individuals and families that experienced trauma as result of the federal
boarding school system. It is time to review the administrative history of this
federal policy, its detrimental effects on the American Indian community, and
the institutions that implemented this federal policy.” –Maria Dadgar,
(Piscataway), MBA, Executive Director, Inter Tribal Association of Arizona
(ITAA)

“The
atrocities of the Indian Boarding School Policies can no longer be ignored, and
the Federal Government must be accountable for the historical and
intergenerational trauma inflicted on us by these policies.” – Chairwoman Teri Gobin, Tulalip
Tribes

“Our
community is well aware of the damages our people suffered at the hands of the
Indian Board School Policy adopted by the United States. The stories have been
handed down and those impacts felt by many generations. The Confederated Salish
and Kootenai Tribes have embraced multiple efforts to heal ourselves and to
improve our health and wellness overall. We support the creation of this
committee to propel these efforts forward for the good of all people who have
been impacted. We also do this to honor our ancestors who sacrificed so we
could be here today.” – Shelly
R. Fyant, Chairwoman, Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Council

In the
Senate, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tina Smith
(D-Minn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Edward J. Markey
(D-Mass.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich
(D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). In the
U.S. House of Representatives, the bill is cosponsored by Representatives Jared
Huffman (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), Ann
Kirpatrick (D-Ariz.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Kai Kahele (D-Hawaii), Teresa
Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Mark
Pocan (D-Wis.), and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).

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