But money isn’t the only concern on Capitol Hill. Republicans in the House have strongly objected to the investigative powers that would be granted to the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States — taking issue with subpoenas that could be issued to churches and religious institutions, for instance. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is a co-sponsor of the bill that would create the commission and she has encouraged Interior’s investigation into Indian boarding schools. Still, she used the hearing to ask Haaland if the Department of the Interior supports the subpoena power provisions, or whether there are alternatives that could be drafted in order to address Republican opposition. “Some of my colleagues have raised this,” said Murkwoski, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “They want to understand better why we need to provide the authority to the commission.” “Is it fair to assume that the department sees the subpoena power as necessary for the commission? Is that something that you want to see included?” Murkowski asked. “Or are there perhaps other options that could be used to gain needed information, absent subpoena authority.” Haaland’s answer was brief, though it represented the first official comment from the Biden administration about the contested subpoena powers of the proposed commission. At the hearing on H.R.5444 in early May, no federal officials had testified. “We support the bill as it is written,” Haaland told Murkowski. Murkowski pointed out that Native people from Alaska are among those impacted by Indian boarding schools. In one heartbreaking case, a student named Sophia Tetoff died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, more than 4,000 miles from her Aleut community on the remote St. Paul Island. Sophia was finally brought home to her family last year, some 120 years after being sent to Carlisle as the age of 12. But since Carlisle is now home to a U.S. Army facility, tribes and families have faced unique obstacles in repatriating loved ones who died there, as the U.S. military does not follow the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and instead has its own regulations governing burials. When asked by Murkowski what resources are available in these situations, Haaland said she would continue to advocate for comprehensive solutions. “The point is that we want to make this a healing process and if that is what the tribes and the families want, we will find a way to do what we can,” Haaland said after Murkowski noted that families might need services or other forms of assistance to help them navigate the federal bureaucracy. The next step in the legislative process would be a business meeting for S.2907. Schatz did not indicate when the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs would schedule one as he asked the Biden administration to recommend any “friendly amendments” for the bill. “We’re gonna mark this up, and we’re gonna try to move it through the Congress,” said Schatz.🧵This afternoon, @AsstSecNewland and I testified in front of @IndianCommittee on the Department's Federal Boarding School Initiative and Volume 1 of @Interior’s investigation.
— Secretary Deb Haaland (@SecDebHaaland) June 22, 2022
Photo: Michael Inacay pic.twitter.com/kWPjycSfac
During consideration of H.R.5444 by the House Committee on Natural Resources earlier this month, Republicans offered a handful of amendments that were far from friendly. One proposal would have removed the subpoena power altogether from the 10-member Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies. “The current text of the bill is written such that it would establish an independent commission of appointed citizen with unchecked power to subpoena the federal government schools, churches and individuals and it would also be funded by an unlimited taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas), the top Republican on the committee. Westerman’s colleagues on the committee rejected his subpoena proposal by a party-line vote on June 15. But related amendment he offered, one to address federal appropriations for the Truth and Healing Commission, was accepted after Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minnesota) explained why his concerns about “unlimited taxpayer dollars” were unfounded. “Trust me, there is no blank check in the Appropriations Committee that deals with the Department of the Interior,” said McCollum, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, the panel that writes Indian Country’s main funding bill.From 1819-1969, our govt used Indian boarding schools to perpetrate horrific injustices against Native children. I’m speaking on the Senate floor about this dark period & how we must acknowledge this history & undertake a path toward healing. Watch here: https://t.co/NOucXgl8oe
— Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz) June 22, 2022
Secretary Haaland announced her department’s review of boarding schools a year ago, during the mid-year meeting of the National Congress of American Indians. The effort so far has produced an investigative report that has identified 408 schools where American Indian, Alaska Native and even Native Hawaiian youth were sent between 1819 and 1969. In the initial report, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland said the department discovered that money was taken from tribal trust fund accounts to pay for the operation of boarding schools. These funds were in addition to federal appropriations that were given to churches, religious institutions and other entities during the harmful period. “The Bureau of Trust Funds Administration has been central to putting together the report that we published earlier this year because of their record keeping function,” Newland said of the federal agency that was formerly known as the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. “They have millions of pages of federal records in their possession that are going to be important to this work,” Newland told the Senate committee at the hearing. He also said the National Archives and Records Administration has been an important partner in the ongoing review. As part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, Interior has launched the “The Road to Healing,” a year-long outreach to Native communities. Haaland said the first stop on the tour will be in Oklahoma, though she did not provide additional details.The Indian Boarding School Policies forcibly removed Native children from their families to eradicate their identities, beliefs, & languages. Yesterday's @IndianCommittee hearing was an important step in advancing my bill to reckon with this disgraceful history & its legacy. pic.twitter.com/jnIdg9SALB
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 24, 2022
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