Biden apologizes to Native Americans for ‘sin’ of residential school policy

LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. – President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to Native Americans for the “sin” of the government-run residential school system that forcibly separated children from their parents for decades, calling it a “stain on American history” in his program, the president’s first visit to Country of India.

“It’s a sin on our soul,” Biden said, his voice full of anger and emotion. “Honestly, there is no excuse for the apology to take 50 years.”

It was a moment of both contrition and frustration as the president tried to recognize one of the “most horrific chapters” in the country’s history. Biden spoke about the abuse and death of Native children as a result of federal government policies, noting that “while darkness may hide much, it erases nothing” and that great nations “must know good and evil and the truth of who we are.”

“I formally apologize as the president of the United States of America for what we have done,” Biden said. The government’s removal of Native American children to residential schools “will always be a significant mark of shame and a stain on American history. For too long, all of this has happened virtually without public attention, something that is not written about in our history textbooks or taught in our schools.”

Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community on the outskirts of the Phoenix metropolitan area will also boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout efforts in the key battleground state. The moment gave Biden a fuller opportunity to highlight his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that has historically favored Democrats, in a state that won by just 10,000 votes in 2020.

The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be equally close, with both campaigns doing what they can to improve turnout among core supporters.

“The race is a turnout driver right now,” said Mike O’Neil, a nonpartisan pollster from Arizona. “The trend lines were extremely stable throughout the period. The question is which candidate will be able to win over voters in a race that appears to be decided by narrow margins.”

Since his re-election campaign ended in July, Biden has been used sparingly in the campaign by Harris and other Democrats.

But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal to Native Americans, a group that outpaced others in turnout.

Some tribal lands in Arizona saw a surge in voter turnout in 2020 as Biden defeated Trump to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden, whose presidency is coming to an end, promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian Country.

For decades, federal boarding schools served to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House. Not everyone found the apology sufficient.

“An apology is a good start, but it is neither a true examination of conscience nor a sufficient remedy for the long history of colonial violence,” said Chase Iron Eyes, director of the Lakota People’s Law Project and the Sacred Defense Fund.

At least 973 Native American children died in the violent U.S. government boarding school system over a 150-year period that ended in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for an apology from the U.S. government.

At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that tried to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally paying attention to this issue and others impacting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school alumna and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think it will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope that momentum continues.”

Democrats have stepped up efforts targeting Native American communities.

Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, met with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. Clinton, who served as Harris’ surrogate, met with the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina last week.

The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure advertising campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is challenging Republican Kari Lake for Arizona’s open Senate seat, visited all of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes.

Harris kicked off a recent rally in Chandler, near the Gila River Reservation, by shouting at a tribal leader. Walz is scheduled to travel to the Navajo Nation in Arizona on Saturday.

The White House says Biden and Harris have made significant gains in working with Native Americans over the past four years.

The president designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada, and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as national monuments and restored the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

Additionally, the administration has allocated nearly $46 billion in federal spending to benefit tribal nations. The money helped bring electricity to a reservation that had never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve sanitation, build roads and more.

Biden has chosen former New Mexico Republican Deb Haaland to be his Interior secretary, the first Native American to be appointed to a cabinet position. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.

She, in turn, ordered a comprehensive June 2021 review of the federal government’s troubled legacy of boarding school policies, which prompted Biden to issue a formal apology.

Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said the Harris and Trump campaigns – as well as their allies – have put an extraordinary effort into microtargeting in Arizona.

“They’re pulling back at every turn to see if they can get a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of the groups that Harris hopes will do better and help make a difference.”