The tour kicked off in Caddo County, Okla., in July 2022 with the intention of collecting oral testimonies from individuals who experienced Indian boarding schools and their descendants. In the past year, Haaland and Newland made stops in Pellston, Michigan, Rosebud, South Dakota; Gila River Indian Community, Arizona, Onamia, Minnesota; Tulalip Indian Reservation, near Seattle, Washington; and Riverside, and Rohnert Park, California.
Haaland and Newland will visit Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 1—45 miles east of Secretary Haaland’s Laguna Pueblo. Their listening session will begin at 10 a.m. MT.
Last year, Secretary Haaland launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to shed light on the troubled history of Federal Indian boarding school policies and their legacy for Indigenous Peoples. In May 2022, the Department released Volume 1 of an investigative report as part of the Initiative, which calls for connecting communities with trauma-informed support and facilitating the collection of a permanent oral history.
Stay tuned to Native News Online for in-person coverage.
