Biden apologises for 150-year policy of forcing native Americans into boarding schools
- In Reports
- 11:20 AM, Oct 26, 2024
- Myind Staff
President Joe Biden on Friday officially apologised for the U.S. government's role in operating harmful Native American boarding schools for over 150 years. During the event, he faced interruptions from people protesting his support for Israel's actions in Gaza.
In his apology, Biden said, "This to me is one of the most consequential things I've ever had an opportunity to do in my whole career," at an outdoor football and track field in Laveen Village, Arizona, close to Phoenix. "It's a sin on our soul. ... I formally apologise." Several hundred people attended the event, many dressed in traditional tribal costumes.
They cheered as President Biden apologised for the generational trauma that Native American communities have endured because of the boarding school system across the country. When a pro-Palestinian demonstrator yelled, "How can you apologise for a genocide while committing a genocide in Palestine?" Biden was momentarily interrupted.
"There is a lot of innocent people being killed, and it has to stop," the president retorted. The October 7, 2023, Hamas strike on Israel sparked months of protests nationwide in response to US support for Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon. An arms embargo against Israel has been called for by rights activists as tens of thousands of people have been slain in the area and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have struggled with disease and starvation.
Washington has continued to back its friend, Israel, and both parties deny the World Court's accusations of genocide against Israel in connection with Gaza. In an attempt to solidify his legacy in his last months in the White House, Biden travelled to Indian Country on Friday for the first time while in office. In the close contest for the US election on November 5, Arizona is one of seven battleground states where Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will fight Republican former President Donald Trump.
The first Native American to serve as cabinet secretary, US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, had started an investigation to acknowledge the problematic history of federal Native American boarding school policy. At least 973 students perished in these schools, according to an investigative report from the Interior Department that was made public in July. Children from Haaland's family were among those compelled to attend the boarding schools.
The United States established and supported hundreds of American Indian boarding schools around the country between 1819 and the 1970s. Forcibly taking Native Americans from their families, communities, faiths, and cultural beliefs was part of their plan to culturally assimilate them. Similar to the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have recently examined historical abuses against Indigenous people, especially schoolchildren.
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