After fifty years of silence, the United States government has begun to address its long history of violence against Native American children in boarding schools. Two major reports and a presidential apology represent a sea-change in the official approach, and they form a key legacy for the Biden administration. Even so, questions remain as to whether recognition will lead to redress for past harm.
From atrocities to tentative apologies
The history of government involvement in forced education of Native American children spans over a century and a half. In 1819, the US government became directly involved for the first time when it passed the Civilization Fund Act, which allowed the US to establish schools and make contracts with religious organizations to run schools. After the Civil War, the government began to take on a more proactive role in the assimilation of Native Americans and the dispossession of their lands. During the 1880s and 1890s, the Department of the Interior (DOI) oversaw the development of hundreds of schools with government-funded teachers. These schools were often harsh environments where children lived away from their families for extended periods, were forced to give up the cultural practices of their ancestors, and faced abuse and exploitation.
The heyday of this system lasted until the 1930s. A damning 1928 report highlighted poor conditions at many schools and subpar teaching, highlighting the need for reforms. Over the following decade, the Roosevelt administration closed several schools, addressed abuse, and created more space for Indigenous cultures in education. Even so, the US continued to separate children from their families, and some schools remained violent environments. The Senate eventually published a major report on the failures of Native American education in 1969, contributing to the decline of this system. With the growing emphasis on self-determination for tribal nations in the late 1960s, the boarding school era thus came to a definitive end. Since then, the remaining schools have become places where Native American children learn about their own cultures and languages. While not without their problems, these schools are doing important work to undo the legacies of the boarding schools.
Even as the US government passed legislation to protect Native American children, repatriate cultural artifacts, and address other historical wrongdoing, it stayed silent about its actions during the boarding school era for almost fifty years. A version of an apology to Native Americans came in 2009 in the form of a brief comment in a defense-spending bill – with the disclaimer that no claims could be made based on this statement. In other words, this apology was a way for the government to say something without actually saying anything, and nothing came of it. By comparison, the Canadian government had already issued an apology for its residential school past and established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission by 2008.
Demanding to be heard
Although attempts to pass legislation on a US Truth Commission have lingered in Congress, the executive branch has taken it upon itself to begin the work of truth-finding. With the appointment of Representative Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) as Secretary of the Interior in March of 2021, the DOI came under the leadership of a Native American person for the first time. Following the discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential school in Canada that May, US boarding schools received renewed attention. Haaland, whose grandparents and great-grandparents went to boarding school, announced the Federal Boarding School Initiative that June, starting a full investigation into this history. In doing so, the DOI continued the legacy of the 1928 and 1969 reports, and set out to expand the body of publicly available knowledge on the subject.
In May 2022, the DOI released an initial report, a 106-page document outlining its initial findings based on archival research and tribal consultations. The report described what happened in frank terms and even acknowledged that dispossessing Native American land was a key goal. The DOI also examined topics like the funding of the schools, student deaths, and support for survivors. In the summer of 2024, the Boarding School Initiative concluded its work with a second report. The official number of schools was adjusted to 417, and the report confirmed the death of at least 973 children at these schools, the actual number probably being much higher. As part of the investigation, the DOI also organized a ‘Road to Healing’ tour, giving former students a chance to tell their stories. This tour marked the first effort by the government to actively listen to survivors and create a record of their experiences.
Steps toward healing
The report also established a possible road map for the future. Its eight recommendations include a formal apology, investments to address the legacies of the school system, the return of the bodies of deceased students, information for the public, and cooperation with countries like Canada. These recommendations are far-reaching and would constitute a significant investment on the part of the US government, which may present a challenge, but they illustrate what can be done.
President Joe Biden took a first step forward when he apologized for the government’s role in the history of boarding schools. In a speech on October 25, 2024 at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, Biden spoke about what happened at the schools, citing the testimony of survivors, and referred to this history as a “sin on our soul.” In addition, he talked about his administration’s accomplishments for Native Americans, and contemporary problems rooted in the boarding school era. Biden stopped short of making any concrete promises, however, and only spoke in general terms about bringing past injustices to light. Moreover, the decision to give this speech in Arizona a mere two weeks before the November 2024 election meant that it received limited attention both in the US and abroad. In response, Native Americans stressed that this apology was a necessary step, but that more action is necessary. Even though there are questions about the timing and the effectiveness of the apology, this speech represents an overdue recognition of the experiences of those who were in these schools, and that alone is immensely valuable.
Given the outcome of the 2024 elections, it is doubtful whether the government will implement the DOI’s other recommendations in the near future. Donald Trump has shown little concern for the interests of Native American nations and his administration is unlikely to continue reconciliation efforts in the next four years. Likewise, Congress has attempted to pass a so-called Truth and Healing Bill since 2020, but it is uncertain whether that effort to pass legislation will succeed anytime soon. Regardless of what happens on the federal level, however, scholars and advocacy groups like the National Boarding School Healing Coalition will continue to research this history and help survivors heal. Local efforts are already underway as well, including the return of the remains of students who died at the schools, and these will continue even without additional federal resources.
In short, the Boarding School Initiative is a major legacy for the Biden administration that represents a long overdue step toward healing. Although recognition alone is far from sufficient, the government has created new opportunities for Native Americans to demand justice and begin sharing their stories outside their communities. The true significance of these developments will only become clear over the coming years, as future administrations either choose to redress the harm done during the boarding school era or continue to be silent on the issue. With everything that the DOI has put in their reports, however, Americans have less of an excuse for ignorance about this topic than ever.
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Vincent Veerbeek is a PhD researcher in the Doctoral Program in History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Helsinki, where he is working on a dissertation about marching bands at government boarding schools for Native Americans. He graduated from Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with a BA in American Studies (2018) and an MA in Historical Studies (2020). During the 2023-2024 academic year, he was a Fulbright visiting scholar at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. https://www.helsinki.fi/fi/tutustu-meihin/ihmiset/henkilohaku/vincent-veerbeek-9448669
