President Biden visits Arizona and apologizes for ‘sin’ of 150-year-old boarding school policy

LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. – President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to Native Americans for the “sin” of a government-run boarding school system that forcibly separated Indian children from their parents for decades. He called it a “stain on American history” during his first visit to Native Country.

“It’s a sin to our souls,” Biden said, his voice full of anger and emotion. “Frankly, there is no excuse that it took 50 years to make this apology.”

Biden spoke about the abuses and deaths of indigenous children that resulted from federal government policies, noting that the shameful history remained unknown and needed to be told. The president explained how his policy wanted to support Native Americans with jobs and new infrastructure.

The Democrats hope Biden’s visit to Gila River Indian Community lands on the outskirts of metro Phoenix in Arizona will also provide a boost Vice President Kamala Harris‘ turnout effort in a major battleground state.

Biden, whose presidency is coming to an end, had promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian Country.

The president spoke to reporters Thursday before leaving Arizonasaid an apology for the U.S. government’s role in the abuse and neglect of indigenous children was “something that should have happened a long time ago.” Federal for decades boarding schools According to the White House, they were used to assimilate children into white society.

The moment will also give Biden a chance to highlight his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that has historically favored Democrats, in a state he won by just 10,000 votes in 2020.

The race between Harris and former president Donald Trump Turnout is expected to be just as close, with both campaigns doing everything they can to improve turnout among core supporters.

“The race is now a matter of turnout,” said Mike O’Neil, a nonpartisan pollster from Arizona. “The trend lines have been remarkably stable. The question is which candidate will be able to convince his voters in a race that seems destined to be decided within narrow margins.”

Biden has been used sparingly on the campaign trail by Harris and other Democrats since he ended his re-election campaign in July.

But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal to Native American voters — a group that has lagged behind others in turnout.

There was one in 2020 increase in voter turnout on a tribal area in Arizona, when Biden defeated Trump and became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden is making the visit in his official capacity, and a formal apology — something tribes have long sought — certainly appears to be gaining attention among Native Americans across the country.

At least 973 Native American children died in the US government abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period ending in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for an apology from the U.S. government.

At least 18,000 children, some as young as four years old, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that tried to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally drawing attention to the issue and other issues impacting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school survivor and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think this will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope this momentum will continue.”

She added that whoever becomes the next president must take concrete action and start making amends for the devastation wrought by boarding schools among the tribes.

Democrats have stepped up outreach to Native American communities.

Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzmet with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. And Clinton, who has served as a surrogate for Harris, met with the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe last week in North Carolina.

The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure advertising campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallegowho is locked in a competitive race with the Republican Kari Lake for Arizona’s open Senate seat, has visited all 22 federally recognized tribes of Arizona.

Harris recently kicked off a campaign rally in Chandler, near the Gila River Reservation, with a shoutout to the tribe’s leader.

She also reminded the crowd that she was the first vice president to visit the reservation. She and husband Doug Emhoff visited the community last year.

“I strongly believe that the relationship between tribal nations and the United States is sacred… and that we must honor tribal sovereignty, embrace our faith in treaty obligations, and ensure tribal self-determination,” Harris said.

The White House says Biden and Harris have built a substantial record of success with Native Americans over the past four years.

He indicated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona as national monuments and restored the boundaries for Bear Ears National Monument in Utah.

In addition, the government has earmarked nearly $46 billion in federal spending for tribal nations. The money has helped bring electricity to a reservation that never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve water treatment, build roads and more.

Biden chose former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as his Home Secretary, the first Indian to be appointed to a cabinet position. Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.

She in turn ordered a comprehensive review in June 2021 of the troubled legacy of the federal government’s boarding school policy, which is prompting Biden to issue the formal apology.

“He made commitments to Indian Country, and he has fulfilled all of those commitments,” Haaland said.

Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said both Harris and Trump’s campaigns — and their allies — have put a remarkable amount of effort into microtargeting in Arizona.

Harris, Reilly noted, has also focused on chipping away at Trump’s advantage among the state’s Mormon voters, a group that has historically favored Republicans. Trump, meanwhile, has paid special attention to young men as the campaign tries to narrow Democrats’ lead among younger voters.

“They’re doing everything they can to see if they can get a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of those groups that Harris hopes will up their game and help make a difference.”