"An apology of this size must be followed by real action," said Nick Tilsen, president of Indigenous rights organization NDN Collective.
SACRAMENTO, the United States, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden formally apologized on Friday for one of the country's darkest policies -- a 150-year systematic campaign to erase Native American culture through forced assimilation at government-run boarding schools.
"I formally apologize as president of the United States of America for what we did," Biden said at the Gila River Indian Community near Phoenix, Arizona, calling it a "blot on American history" while acknowledging the apology was 50 years overdue.
From 1819 to 1969, the U.S. government operated or funded 408 boarding schools across nearly 40 states with the explicit mission to "Kill the Indian in him, and save the man," a philosophy coined by Army officer Richard Henry Pratt who founded the first federal Indian boarding school, according to Human Rights Watch.
Children as young as four years old were forcibly removed from their families and communities, forbidden from speaking their native languages, and typically faced violent punishment for resisting assimilation.
The schools, run in partnership with religious institutions, subjected Indigenous children to forced labor, sexual abuse, physical violence, psychological trauma, and starvation, according to Human Rights Watch. Many children who died were buried in unmarked graves.
The U.S. Department of the Interior's investigation revealed at least 973 Native American children died in these schools, with at least 18,000 children being forcibly removed from their parents. Human Rights Watch believed the actual death toll could be "in the thousands or tens of thousands."
Indigenous leaders viewed the timing of this historic apology with skepticism, noting its proximity to a tight presidential race. Arizona, which Biden won by just 10,000 votes in 2020, remained a critical battleground state so far where Native American turnout could prove decisive in the Harris-Trump contest, according to AP News.
"An apology of this size must be followed by real action," said Nick Tilsen, president of Indigenous rights organization NDN Collective, calling for specific steps, including passing the U.S. Truth and Healing Commission bill and releasing Leonard Peltier, described as America's "longest living Indigenous political prisoner" who is also a boarding school survivor.
The legacy of this system continues to reverberate through Indigenous communities today.
Ramona Klein, a survivor of Fort Totten Indian boarding school, testified about the ongoing impact. "We see evidence of that destruction today in people who suffer from and commit domestic violence, who suffer and commit sexual abuse, who suffer from addiction because they're trying to stop the pain and nightmares, who experience extreme poverty, and even in underperforming schools," said Klein.
The Democratic National Committee has launched a targeted ad campaign focusing on Native American voters in crucial swing states, including Arizona, North Carolina, Montana, and Alaska.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, have been actively courting tribal leaders, with former President Bill Clinton serving as a surrogate in meetings with tribal chairpersons, according to AP News.
The White House defended its record with Native Americans, citing nearly 46 billion U.S. dollars in federal spending directed to tribal nations during Biden's presidency and the historic appointment of Deb Haaland as the first Native American interior secretary.
Haaland, whose grandparents were forced to attend boarding schools, launched the first U.S. government investigation into the schools' troubled legacy.
Chuck Hoskin Jr., the Cherokee Nation principal chief, acknowledged the significance of the moment while emphasizing that "true healing goes beyond words -- it requires action, resources, and commitment."
As both campaigns intensified their efforts in swing states, political analyst Thom Reilly noted that "they are pulling out every stop just to see if they could wrangle a few more votes here and there," highlighting how even historical apologies for generational trauma can become tools in electoral politics.
Stephen Roe Lewis, the Gila River Indian community governor, noted poignantly: "Some of our elders who are boarding school survivors have been waiting all of their lives for this moment," underlining the complex emotions surrounding an apology that comes decades too late and amid political calculations. ■