U.S. Government Finally Apologizes to Native Americans Students Who Attended Their Boarding Schools

On October 25, 2024, U.S. President Joseph R. Biden formally apologized for the federal government’s role in establishing and maintaining boarding schools for Indigenous American children throughout the country. For over 50 years, these schools caused irreversible harm to Indigenous children of Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian descent. As many as 18,000 Indigenous children were separated from their families and culture to forcibly assimilate into the American way of life. 

Unfortunately, the unethical techniques involved in assimilating these children led to mental, physical, and sexual abuse and even caused death to countless children. As adults, these men and women still deal with the repercussions of horrific actions that caused harm and disgrace without their parents’ consent. It is important to note that forced assimilation was U.S. federal policy enacted in 1819 to “civilize” Native Americans until the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978

When I was a doctoral student in educational leadership, I read about these schools and how Indigenous children were forced to stop speaking their native language and change their whole cultural existence, such as clothing attire, to fit into western society. If they did not comply, these children were severely punished.

Their punishment ranged from physical beatings to ultimate death. In fact, estimates vary, but at least close to 1,000 children were killed and buried in 74 marked and unmarked burial sites at more than 500 schools.

Although a formal apology from the federal government is appropriate and much needed, it is not the only mechanism that can reconcile the wrongdoings of the past. Direct reparations should be granted to Indigenous children who suffered at the hands of the federal government. These reparations should come in the form of money, tribal education, and health care benefits to individuals and their families who were negatively affected by U.S. assimilation policies. I believe that such efforts are just the beginning of holistic restitution. Along with substantial amounts of money, health care resources, and human capital, the wrongs of the past can begin to be reconciled.

No group of people deserves the treatment these Indigenous children experienced. The damage that was done to them can never be removed. It is a stain that will forever serve as a remembrance of what we, as a nation, believed and championed as righteous. Once we recognize and deal with this reality, we will grow ethically as a nation and as a people.

Fortunately, there is hope in the mist of the clouds. This hope can be found in the hearts and minds of a new generation who sees right and wrong through the lens of one’s character. For character, in Latin, means “a symbol marked or branded on the body.” It also originates from the Greek “kharaktēr”, which means a symbol or imprint on the soul. Thus, character is the core of who we are! If we educate and rear our young people to look at character first rather than skin color, human atrocities such as the ones we have discussed will less likely occur.

Ethically speaking,

Obiora N. Anekwe