Native Forward Responds to Presidential Apology for U.S. Role in Federal Indian Boarding Schools
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Albuquerque, NM – Native Forward Scholars Fund, the largest direct provider of scholarships for Native students, released a statement from their CEO, Angelique Albert, responding to President Biden’s formal apology to Native communities for the United States’ federal boarding school policies.
Please see statement below:
President Joe Biden’s apology today on behalf of the U.S. government for its role in the federal Indian boarding schools is a critical first step in the truth and reconciliation process for Native and Indigenous communities. Indian boarding school policies are not a horror of the past–these institutions operated through 1969, and many Native people who were subjected to these cruel policies are still living today.
This apology is a testament to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s work centering the history and experience of Native people and the importance of Native inclusion in government. The Interior Department’s report, released earlier this year under Secretary Haaland’s leadership, documented widespread abuse, forced assimilation, and the deaths of Native children at the schools. It offers clear recommendations to build a pathway for healing.
As we build upon this moment, I encourage President Biden and the next administration to execute the additional seven recommendations from the Interior Department’s report. This includes the responsibility to educate the American public on Native history, including the history of federal Indian boarding schools, and to invest in education for Native people.
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About Native Forward
Native Forward Scholars Fund is the largest direct provider of scholarships to Native students for greater economic mobility, self-determination, and Tribal sovereignty for scholars and Tribal communities. The organization is committed to ensuring that every Native student who wants to pursue higher education has the resources to do so. Over 55 years, it has empowered over 22,000 scholars from more than 500 Tribes in all 50 states and contributed to over 1,700 law degrees and more than 2,200 PhD degrees. By pairing scholarships with meaningful, culturally relevant student support and programming, Native Forward has succeeded in increasing the graduation rate of undergraduate students to 69%, compared to the national average of 41% for Native students, and has boosted the rate for graduate students to 95%.
