{"id":13245,"date":"2021-06-22T16:37:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=13245"},"modified":"2021-06-22T16:42:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T20:42:32","slug":"i-know-that-this-process-will-be-painful-secretary-haaland-announces-indian-boarding-school-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/06\/22\/i-know-that-this-process-will-be-painful-secretary-haaland-announces-indian-boarding-school-review\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I know that this process will be painful\u2019: Secretary Haaland announces Indian boarding school review"},"content":{"rendered":" \"A<\/a>
A ground radar survey of the Carlisle Barracks Post Cemetery was used to gather more information about the tribal youth who died while attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. Photo: Army National Military Cemeteries<\/figcaption>\r\n
Secretary Haaland Announces Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative<\/div>\r\n
Outlines Path Forward on Troubled Legacy of Federal Boarding School Policies in Remarks to National Congress of American Indians<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, June 22, 2021<\/div>\r\n
<\/div>Source: U.S. Department of the Interior
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doi.gov<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe following is the text of a June 22, 2021, press release from the Department of the Interior<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n• SECRETARIAL MEMO: Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative<\/a>\r\n<\/strong>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. — In remarks to the National Congress of American Indians 2021 Mid Year Conference today, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced a Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a comprehensive review of the troubled legacy of federal boarding school policies.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nToday\u2019s announcement is accompanied by a secreterial memo in which Secretary Haaland directs the Department to prepare a report detailing available historical records, with an emphasis on cemeteries or potential burial sites, relating to the federal boarding school program in preparation for a future site work. This work will occur under the supervision of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Interior Department will address the inter-generational impact of Indian boarding schools to shed light on the unspoken traumas of the past, no matter how hard it will be,\u201d said Secretary Haaland. \u201cI know that this process will be long and difficult. I know that this process will be painful. It won\u2019t undo the heartbreak and loss we feel. But only by acknowledging the past can we work toward a future that we\u2019re all proud to embrace.\u201d\r\n

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<\/p>\r\nSecretary Haaland recently reflected on the inter-generational trauma created by these policies in an op-ed<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe must shed light on what happened at federal Boarding Schools,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, who also delivered remarks outlining implementation of this effort. \u201cAs we move forward in this work, we will engage in Tribal consultation on how best to use this information, protect burial sites, and respect families and communities.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBeginning with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819, the United States enacted laws and implemented policies establishing and supporting Indian boarding schools across the nation. The purpose of Indian boarding schools was to culturally assimilate Indigenous children by forcibly relocating them from their families and communities to distant residential facilities where their American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian identities, languages, and beliefs were to be forcibly suppressed. For over 150 years, hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children were taken from their communities.\r\n

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Secretary Deb Haaland is addressing the National Congress of American Indians for the first time since taking over the Department of the Interior. Tune in this afternoon! @SecDebHaaland<\/a> @NCAI1944<\/a> @Interior<\/a> #DebHaaland<\/a> #NCAIMY2021<\/a> #BoardingSchools<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/M3qsR3NYQT<\/a><\/p>— indianz.com (@indianz) June 22, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>