Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation: ‘We’re still fighting for our freedom’

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Photo courtesy Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

Historic Apology for Native American Boarding Schools Reignites Call for Justice and True Sovereignty

Friday, October 25, 2024

Indianz.Com

MAYETTA, Kansas — The following is a statement from Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in response to President Joe Biden’s apology for 150-year Indian boarding school policy:

“Genocide, institutional racism, abuse in all forms, cultural disconnection, alienation and pressure to assimilate away from Native culture and identity have haunted our people for generations, with Native American boarding schools serving as the epicenter.

“President Joe Biden traveling to Arizona to formally apologize for the federal government’s responsibility for years of mental, emotional and physical violence intended to eliminate Tribal nations, our language and our culture is a moment in history that gives us hope for the future of Native communities throughout this country — a country that was built on our land and at the expense of our future.

“We cannot deny, however, that it’s impossible to forgive the government for these houses of horror-masked-as-schools that affected generations before us and still affect us to this day as we work through the trauma of it all — but we appreciate today’s historic message and the accountability President Biden carried out on behalf of the United States government.

“We’re still fighting for our freedom, our identity and our land, and the reality is only until we have greater justice in the ‘“land back’” movement will we realize true sovereignty.

“Until that happens, we’ll continue to appreciate and welcome the federal government’s strides toward progress.”