- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON – In an op-ed published in The Washington Post, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), the nation’s first Native American presidential cabinet secretary, said the United States needs to address the abuse in Indian boarding schools.
Haaland referenced the recent discovery of an unmarked mass grave in Canada containing the remains of 215 Indigenous children on the grounds of a closed-down residential school in Canada.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
Haaland tells the story of her maternal grandparents who “stolen” from their families when only 8-years-olds and put in Indian boarding schools.
She also recounts her great-grandfather attended Carlisle Indian School:
“My great-grandfather was taken to Carlisle Indian in Pennsylvania. Its founder coined the phrase ‘kill the Indian, and save the man,’ which genuinely reflects the influences that framed these policies at the time.”
In the op-ed, Haaland cites the Biden administration’s commitment to strengthen tribal sovereignty.
As she concludes, Haaland the country must acknowledge the painful truths of the Indian boarding schools.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
"Though it is uncomfortable to learn that the country you love is capable of committing such acts, the first step to justice is acknowledging these painful truths and gaining a full understanding of their impacts so that we can unravel the threads of trauma and injustice that linger,” she writes.
CLICK to read Secretary Haaland's entire op-ed.
More Stories Like This
House Passes Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal; How Native American Members of Congress VotedHistory Made as First Navajo Appointed U.S. Federal Judge in California
California Bill Aims to Increase State Funding for Tribal Housing
Navajo Nation Leaders Recognized the Fallen on Memorial Day
This Day in History — May 28, 1830, Andrew Jackson Signs Indian Removal Act
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
