For Immediate Release
July 25, 2024
Contact:
Mike Inacay (Schatz) at press@indian.senate.gov
CHAIRMAN SCHATZ: HISTORY OF INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOLS ONE OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL CHAPTERS IN COUNTRY’S HISTORY, LEGISLATION ON COMMISSION SET FOR A SENATE FLOOR VOTE
Video Of Senator Schatz’s Remarks Available Here
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a group of senators to speak on the dark history of Indian Boarding Schools and the progress being made on the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, legislation that would establish a federal commission to investigate, document, and acknowledge past injustices due to the federal government’s former Indian Boarding School policies.
“The history of Indian boarding schools is, without doubt, one of the darkest, most shameful chapters in our country’s history. For over 150 years, the United States government stole hundreds of thousands of Native children from their families and communities and forced them into federally-run and -supported boarding schools, often far away from their homes,” said Chairman Schatz.
“The bill will establish a Truth and Healing Commission as well as several advisory bodies tasked with uncovering the full scope of what took place at these schools. The commission will provide a platform for survivors to share their experiences and for the nation to hear and acknowledge their pain,” Schatz continued.
Video of the remarks is available here and a full transcript as prepared for deliver follows.
The history of Indian boarding schools is, without doubt, one of the darkest, most shameful chapters in our country’s history. For over 150 years, the United States government stole hundreds of thousands of Native children from their families and communities and forced them into federally-run and -supported boarding schools, often far away from their homes. These institutions, by design, worked with efficient, brutal, and systematic diligence to force Native children to abandon their cultures, languages, and identities through unspeakably cruel punishment, abuse, and neglect.
As one school superintendent noted, “only by complete isolation of the Indian child from his savage antecedents can he be satisfactorily educated.”
These inhumane policies were part of the government’s longstanding colonial project to rob Native people’s land through assimilation. The goal was to “civilize” Native children by Killing the Indian in him, and saving the man. That was the motto at the time. Killing the Indian, to save the man.
To hear this history today is appalling…it’s infuriating…and it’s heartbreaking.
Because, as the late Senator Ted Kennedy put it, it “challenges the most precious assumptions about what this country stands for – cultural pluralism, equity and justice, the integrity of the individual, freedom of conscience and action, and the pursuit of happiness.”
But it’s not just the history that demands a reckoning – it’s also the lasting legacy of these immoral policies which continues to this day. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which I chair, has heard devastating testimony from survivors, descendants, communities, and leaders about the impact of these schools decades later.
A legacy of enduring trauma, passed down from parent, to child, to grandchild, and to great-grandchild. Fracturing families and communities over and over and over again. Across Indian reservations and Hawaiian homelands and Alaska Native communities. From coast to coast…in cities and rural counties. And we see it manifested in so many ways within Native communities, whether it’s higher rates of mental health issues or substance abuse or suicide.
So it’s not enough to just face up the wrongs of the past, though that’s absolutely necessary. It’s equally important to provide justice and support for survivors and descendants. The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act does both.
The bill will establish a Truth and Healing Commission as well as several advisory bodies tasked with uncovering the full scope of what took place at these schools. The commission will provide a platform for survivors to share their experiences…and for the nation to hear and acknowledge their pain. Doing so ensures that these stories are preserved and the atrocities are never forgotten. Importantly, the bill is sensitive to the trauma experienced by survivors and descendants and requires the commission to provide them with trauma-informed care. Ultimately, the commission’s final report will provide a comprehensive account of the boarding school era and recommendations to Congress for future action.
Before I close, I want to take a moment to directly acknowledge the survivors, descendants, families, and communities that have been devastated by these horrific policies. Some of them are here with us today in the gallery. Their advocacy and courage have been the driving force behind this bill. And the fact that we’ve reached this point, having passed the bill unanimously out of committee and ready to consider it before the full United States Senate, is a testament to your unwavering commitment to truth and justice. Their stories will not be forgotten.
This bill is not just a legislative act; it’s a moral imperative. It’s our duty to unflinchingly confront the full scope of this shameful history and heal the deep pains that this very body helped create. We can’t change the past, but we can and must shape a better future. A future where the mistakes of the past are never again repeated, and where every child can grow up with pride in their heritage and identity. So I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. Too many have waited too long for truth…for closure…for justice. And by passing this bill, we can finally begin the work of delivering it.
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