Biden to apologize to Native Americans for era of boarding school atrocities

President Biden will issue a formal presidential apology to the Native American community in Arizona on Friday for atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples during the era of federal Indian boarding schools, according to a source familiar with the president’s announcement. 

From 1819 through the 1970s, the federal government established and supported Indian boarding schools throughout the country to assimilate Alaska Native, American Indian and Native Hawaiian children into White American culture by forcibly removing them from their families, communities and belief systems. Many children who attended these boarding schools endured emotional and physical abuse, and some died, the Department of the Interior detailed. 

The Washington Post first reported the president’s anticipated apology. 

Since Mr. Biden became president, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and her department conducted the first-ever federal investigation into the Indian boarding school system and completed a “Road to Healing” tour to hear from survivors of the boarding schools. The U.S. ran more than 400 such schools during that more than 150-year period. 

Mr. Biden’s presidential apology is a recognition from the highest level of government that the U.S. was responsible for systemic cruelties against Indigenous peoples. 

Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, is expected to speak to reporters Thursday afternoon en route to Arizona. 

Mr. Biden has made efforts to repair relations with Native American tribes and communities. The American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act included billions of dollars for infrastructure investments in Native communities.