Legislation that would call on Congress to investigate the federal government’s Indian boarding school policy, which led to the termination and assimilation efforts of Native Americans from 1819 to the 1960s, was left out of committee last week and heads to the Senate.
The bill – the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2024 – is legislation to investigate, document and report on the history of Indian boarding schools, Indian boarding school policies, and the long-term effects on Native communities.
“For more than a century, the federal government’s Indian boarding school policies and practices aimed to destroy indigenous languages, cultures and identities. The Committee heard and reflected on more than 100 comments from survivors, descendants, tribal leaders, tribal citizens, advocates, faith-based organizations, local governments, and experts on the need for Congress to act and help address the intergenerational impact of the shameful history of India. Indian Boarding Schools,” U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “It is long past time that we have to reckon with this painful history. Now that this bill is ready for action on the floor, I look forward to moving it through the Senate quickly.”
There are currently two versions of the bill making their way through both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House version of the bill was reintroduced earlier this year by Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) and Tom Cole (R-OK-04), co-chairs of the Congressional Native American Caucus. In February, the bill was referred to three separate committees and one subcommittee to consider provisions that may fall within their respective jurisdictions. On June 13, a congressional committee advanced the bill out of one of its committees, bringing the bill one step closer to the House of Representatives.
The Senate version of the bill was introduced in May 2023 by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), with bipartisan support from 26 mostly Democratic senators. In June 2023, the bill was referred to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where it was amended last week and passed unanimously by the committee. It is currently being prepared for a full vote in the Senate.
About the Author: “Native News Online is one of the most widely read publications covering Indian Country and the news important to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Native peoples. Contact us at editor@nativenewsonline.net.”
Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net
