President Joe Biden recently made a historic apology for the past government practices of forcibly separating Native American children from their families and sending them to residential schools, where they endured abuse. He referred to this dark chapter as one of the “most horrific passages” in American history.
According to reports from AFP, from 1819 to the 1970s, hundreds of Indian residential schools were established across the country with the intent to eradicate Native American cultures. These institutions enforced cultural assimilation and often pressured Native children to convert to Christianity.
A recently released government report revealed heartbreaking cases of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse suffered by children in these schools, estimating that nearly 1,000 children died, with many believing the actual number to be much higher.
While speaking in Laveen Village, Arizona, at the Gila River Indian Community, Biden expressed with passion and emotion, “As President of the United States, I formally apologize for the actions of the past government.”
He further described the existence of these residential schools, which lasted for approximately 150 years, as “one of the most horrific chapters in American history” and articulated that it represents “a sin on our souls.”
Biden acknowledged that no apology could truly rectify the suffering caused by the federal boarding school policies. “On the 25th, we finally step into the light,” he said.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary in U.S. history, shared her own grandparents’ painful experiences, recalling their abduction from their community and forced residency in a Catholic school.
Haaland emphasized the failed attempts by federal authorities to eliminate Native languages, traditions, and ways of life, stating, “Despite all that has happened, we are still here.”
Similar tragedies occurred in Canada, where thousands of children also lost their lives in comparable residential schools, and countries around the world are increasingly recognizing and addressing the history of abuse against Indigenous peoples, with official apologies being issued.