HomeWorldJoe Biden to issue historic apology for abuse of Native American children

Joe Biden to issue historic apology for abuse of Native American children

The US president travels to Arizona this Friday, October 25, to “present an official apology to the Indian nations for the way we have treated their children for so many years.”

US President Joe Biden announced this Thursday, October 24, that he would present a historic presidential apology to Native American peoples, whose children were separated from their families for more than a century by the US federal government, to place them in residential schools where they were mistreated.

The purpose of these boarding schools was to erase the culture, language, and identity of the Native Americans in order to assimilate them. According to a recent government report, many children suffered physical, mental or sexual violence. Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona on Friday.

At least 973 children died in these structures

“I’m going there to do something that should have been done a long time ago,” the US president said Thursday. “Offer a formal apology to the Indian nations for the way we have treated their children for so many years.”

These boarding schools, run by the US government, existed from the early 19th century until the 1970s. They were often far from students’ homes. According to the government report, at least 973 children died in these structures.

“The president taking this action tomorrow is so historic that I’m not sure I can adequately express its impact,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the United States’ first Native American minister. “This apology means so much more than words could ever express.”

“Teach all our history, even if it is painful”

It was under his leadership that a major investigation was launched in 2021, resulting in a detailed report. “For more than a century, tens of thousands of indigenous children, as young as four years old, were separated from their families and communities to be forcibly placed” in these boarding schools, declared Minister Deb Haaland. “That includes my own family.”

“For decades, this terrible chapter was hidden in our history books,” he added.

According to the White House, the presidential apology highlights the need to “teach our entire history, even if it is painful.” “We must learn from this history so that it is never repeated,” the statement added.

Joe Biden’s trip occurs in the middle of the presidential campaign, led by his vice president Kamala Harris against Republican Donald Trump, in an extremely close race.

In 2020, Joe Biden narrowly won Arizona, a key state that could, along with others, influence the outcome of the November election and is one of those where the Native American population is largest in the United States.

Author: boyfriend with afp
Source: BFM TV

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