In a rare and historic moment, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a formal apology last week to Native American communities for decades of systemic abuse at federally operated boarding schools. 🕊️
The schools, which operated from the 19th to mid-20th century, forcibly separated Indigenous children from their families to assimilate them into Euro-American culture. Biden called the policy a 'dark chapter' that caused 'generational trauma.'
'We must shed light on unspoken wounds,' Biden stated, acknowledging reports of physical punishment, forced labor, and cultural erasure. The apology coincides with new federal efforts to preserve Indigenous languages and traditions.
Native American leaders praised the gesture but emphasized the need for concrete reparations. 'Apologies are seeds—action is the harvest,' said one tribal representative. 🌾
