President Joe Biden will issue an apology on behalf of the US government for its role in forcing Indigenous children into so-called Indian boarding schools which robbed them of family, language and culture, reports ICT.
Biden is scheduled to travel to the Gila River Indian Community on Oct. 25, his first visit to tribal lands as president, where he will deliver his remarks.
In an interview with ICT, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said, “This apology is an acknowledgement that the President of the United States sees and hears” Indigenous communities.
Members of Haaland’s own family were forced to attend Indian boarding schools.
“This is an acknowledgement of a horrific history,” Haaland continued. “This happened in our country.”
“I think he has it in his heart to understand the pain and trauma that we and our loved ones have suffered,” said Deb Parker, chief executive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, known as NABS. “It takes a strong president to deliver this apology.”
Read the full story at ICT
