II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4752 

To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 

Policy in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Ms. WARREN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian 

Boarding School Policy in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Truth and Healing 

5 Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) The Indian Boarding School Policy was 

9 adopted by the United States Government to strip 

10 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) chilVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4752.IS S4752

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1 dren of their indigenous identities, beliefs, and tradi2 tional languages to assimilate them into White 

3 American culture through federally funded Chris4 tian-run schools, which had the effect of cultural 

5 genocide. 

6 (2) For nearly a century, between 1869 and the 

7 1960s, the Federal Government implemented the In8 dian Boarding School Policy. This policy authorized 

9 the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of AI/ 

10 AN children, as young as 5 years old, relocating 

11 them from their homes in Tribal communities to one 

12 of the 367 Indian Boarding Schools across 30 

13 States. 

14 (3) By 1926, nearly 83 percent of AI/AN 

15 school-age children were enrolled in Indian boarding 

16 schools in the United States. However, because near17 ly 62 percent of the school records have been lost or 

18 destroyed, the full extent of the Federal Indian 

19 boarding school policy has not been identified. 

20 (4) Gen. Richard Henry Pratt, the founder and 

21 superintendent of the Carlisle Indian Industrial 

22 School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, stated the ethos of 

23 this policy to ‘‘kill the Indian in him, and save the 

24 man’’. Founded in 1879, the Carlisle Indian School 

25 set the precedent as the first Government-funded 


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1 off-reservation Indian boarding school in the United 

2 States where over 10,000 AI/AN children were en3 rolled from over 140 Tribes. 

4 (5) The Indian Boarding School policy was de5 signed to assimilate AI/AN children into White 

6 American culture by stripping them of their cultural 

7 identities, often through physical, sexual, psycho8 logical, and spiritual abuse and neglect. Many of the 

9 children who were taken to boarding schools never 

10 returned to their communities. At the Carlisle In11 dian School alone, approximately 180 AI/AN chil12 dren were buried. 

13 (6) While attending Indian boarding schools, 

14 AI/AN children suffered additional psychological 

15 abuses as they were sent to White-owned homes and 

16 businesses for involuntary and unpaid manual labor 

17 work during the summers. Many children ran away 

18 and remained missing, or died of illnesses due to 

19 harsh living conditions, abuse, and/or substandard 

20 health care provided by the schools. 

21 (7) Many of the children were buried in un22 marked graves or off-campus cemeteries. Inaccurate, 

23 scattered, and missing school records make it nearly 

24 impossible for families to locate the final resting 

25 place of their loved ones, especially since only 38 


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1 percent of the school’s records have been located 

2 from 142 of the known 367 boarding schools. 

3 (8) Parents of the children who were forcibly 

4 removed to the boarding schools were prohibited 

5 from visiting or engaging in correspondence with 

6 their children. Parental resistance to compliance 

7 with this harsh no-contact policy resulted in their in8 carceration or loss of access to basic provisions in9 cluding food rations, clothing, or both. 

10 (9) The 2018 Broken Promises Report pub11 lished by the United States Commission on Civil 

12 Rights reported that AI/AN communities continue to 

13 experience intergenerational trauma resulting from 

14 experiences in Indian Boarding Schools that divided 

15 cultural family structures, damaged indigenous iden16 tities, and inflicted chronic psychological ramifica17 tions on AI/AN children and families. 

18 (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre19 vention Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Expe20 riences Study shows that adverse or traumatic child21 hood experiences disrupts brain development leading 

22 to a higher likelihood of negative health outcomes as 

23 adults including, but not limited to, heart disease, 

24 obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. AI/ANs 


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1 suffer from disproportional rates of each of these 

2 diseases compared to the national average today. 

3 (11) The longstanding ramifications of the in4 humane treatment of AI/AN children and families at 

5 these boarding schools continues to impact Tribal 

6 communities through intergenerational trauma, cy7 cles of violence and abuse, disappearance, health dis8 parities, substance abuse, premature deaths, and ad9 ditional undocumented psychological trauma. 

10 (12) The continuing lasting implications of the 

11 Federal Indian Boarding School Policy and inhu12 mane treatment of AI/AN children and families in13 fluenced modern U.S. Department of the Interior’s 

14 Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated schools. 

15 These schools have often failed to meet the many 

16 needs of nearly 50,000 AI/AN students across 23 

17 States. 

18 (13) The replication of assimilation policies of 

19 the boarding school era also presented itself through 

20 other Federal programs like the Indian Adoption 

21 Project (1958 to 1967) that placed AI/AN children 

22 in non-Indian households and institutions for foster 

23 care or adoption across 25 States. 

24 (14) The Association on American Indian Af25 fairs reported that the continuation of cultural genoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4752.IS S4752

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1 cide and assimilation policies through Federal AI/ 

2 AN adoption and foster care programs between 

3 1941 to 1967 separated as many as one-third of Na4 tive American children from their families in Tribal 

5 communities, subsequently prompting the creation of 

6 the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to stop the re7 moval of children. 

8 (15) In some States, over 50 percent of foster 

9 care children in State adoption systems are Native 

10 American. The general lack of public awareness, in11 formation, and acknowledgment of the residual im12 pacts of the Indian Boarding School Policy and in13 tergenerational trauma remain, signaling the over14 due need for an investigative Federal committee to 

15 further document and expose the assimilation and 

16 cultural genocide implemented under this policy. 

17 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

18 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

19 (1) To establish a new Truth and Healing Com20 mission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the 

21 United States to formally investigate and document, 

22 for the first time in history, cultural genocide, as23 similation practices, and human rights violations of 

24 Indian Boarding Schools in the United States, to 

25 study the impact and ongoing effects of historical 


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1 and intergenerational trauma in Tribal communities, 

2 and to provide a forum for indigenous victims and 

3 families to discuss the personal impacts of physical, 

4 psychological, and spiritual violence. 

5 (2) To further develop recommendations for the 

6 Federal Government to acknowledge and heal the 

7 historical and intergenerational trauma caused by 

8 the Federal Indian Boarding School Policy and 

9 other cultural genocide practices, including rec10 ommendations to stop the continued removal of AI/ 

11 AN children from their families and Tribal commu12 nities under modern-day assimilation practices car13 ried out by State social service departments, foster 

14 care agencies, and adoption services. 

15 SEC. 4. TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION ON INDIAN 

16 BOARDING SCHOOL POLICY IN THE UNITED 

17 STATES. 

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

20 means the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian 

21 Boarding School Policy in the United States estab22 lished by subsection (b)(1). 

23 (2) INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL POLICY.—The 

24 term ‘‘Indian Boarding School Policy’’ means the 

25 policy of the Federal Government under which more 


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1 than 100,000 American Indian and Alaska Native 

2 children were forcibly removed from their family 

3 homes and placed in any of 460 Bureau of Indian 

4 Affairs-operated schools, including 367 Indian 

5 boarding schools, at which assimilation and ‘‘civiliza6 tion’’ practices were inflicted on those children as 

7 part of the assimilation efforts of the Federal Gov8 ernment, advancing eradication of indigenous peo9 ples’ cultures in the United States. 

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

12 Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding 

13 School Policy in the United States. 

14 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission 

15 is to investigate the experience, impacts, and ongo16 ing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policy, in17 cluding the impacts and ongoing effects of the inter18 generational trauma inflicted on American Indian 

19 and Alaska Native families, including physical, psy20 chological, sexual, and spiritual violence inflicted on 

21 Native American children as young as 5 years old 

22 for speaking indigenous languages or engaging in 

23 traditional practices. In addition to, obtaining accu24 rate records and oral accounts of the events that 

25 took place at the boarding schools. 


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1 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

3 be composed of members appointed as follows: 

4 (i) Not fewer than 1 member ap5 pointed by the President. 

6 (ii) Not fewer than 1 member ap7 pointed by the President pro tempore of 

8 the Senate, on the recommendation of the 

9 majority leader of the Senate. 

10 (iii) Not fewer than 1 member ap11 pointed by the President pro tempore of 

12 the Senate, on the recommendation of the 

13 minority leader of the Senate. 

14 (iv) Not fewer than 2 members ap15 pointed by the Speaker of the House of 

16 Representatives, of whom not fewer than 1 

17 shall be appointed on the recommendation 

18 of the minority leader of the House of 

19 Representatives. 

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 To the maximum extent practicable, the Presi22 dent and the Members of Congress shall ap23 point members of the Commission under sub24 paragraph (A) to represent diverse experiences 

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1 resentatives and experts who will provide bal2 anced points of view with regard to the duties 

3 of the Commission, including Tribal representa4 tives and experts— 

5 (i) from diverse geographic areas; and 

6 (ii) who possess personal experience 

7 with, diverse policy experience with, or spe8 cific expertise in, Indian boarding school 

9 history or the Indian Boarding School Pol10 icy. 

11 (C) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT.—The 

12 President shall make appointments to the Com13 mission under this paragraph in coordination 

14 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Di15 rector of the Bureau of Indian Education. 

16 (D) MEMBERS TO BE INCLUDED.—To the 

17 maximum extent practicable, the membership of 

18 the Commission shall include— 

19 (i) 1 representative from each of— 

20 (I) the National Native American 

21 Boarding School Healing Coalition; 

22 (II) the National Indian Edu23 cation Association; 

24 (III) the American Indian Higher 

25 Education Consortium; and 


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1 (IV) National Indian Child Wel2 fare Association; 

3 (ii) the Director or Administrator 

4 of— 

5 (I) the Bureau of Indian Edu6 cation; 

7 (II) the Office of Indian Edu8 cation of the Department of Edu9 cation; 

10 (III) the Administration for Na11 tive Americans of the Administration 

12 for Children and Families of the De13 partment of Health and Human Serv14 ices; and 

15 (IV) the National Museum of the 

16 American Indian of the Smithsonian 

17 Institution; 

18 (iii) not fewer than— 

19 (I) 5 members of different Indian 

20 Tribes from diverse geographic areas, 

21 to be selected from among nomina22 tions submitted by Indian Tribes; 

23 (II) 2 health care or mental 

24 health practitioners, counselors, or 

25 providers with experience in working 


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1 with former students of Indian board2 ing schools, to be selected from among 

3 nominations of Tribal chairs or elect4 ed Tribal leadership local to the re5 gion in which the practitioner, coun6 selor, or provider works; 

7 (III) 3 members of different na8 tional Indian organizations, regional 

9 Indian organizations, or urban Indian 

10 organizations that are focused on, or 

11 have relevant expertise with, the his12 tory and systemic trauma associated 

13 with the Indian Boarding School Pol14 icy; 

15 (IV) 4 former students or Indian 

16 survivors who attended Indian board17 ing schools; 

18 (V) 2 family members of students 

19 who attended Indian boarding schools, 

20 to represent diverse regions of the 

21 United States; 

22 (VI) 2 students who currently at23 tend an Indian boarding school, in24 cluding not fewer than 1 student who 

25 currently attends the Chemawa Indian 


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1 School (OR), Haskell Indian Nations 

2 University (KS), Mount Edgecumbe 

3 (AK), Santa Fe Indian School (NM), 

4 or Sherman Institute (CA); 

5 (VII) 2 students who currently 

6 attend a BIE-operated boarding 

7 school, tribally controlled boarding 

8 school, State public boarding school, 

9 private nonprofit boarding school for10 merly operated by the Federal Gov11 ernment, parochial boarding school, 

12 and BIE-operated college or univer13 sity; 

14 (VIII) 2 former teachers who 

15 taught at an Indian boarding school 

16 for not fewer than 5 years; and 

17 (IX) 1 representative of the 

18 International Indian Treaty Council 

19 (IITC) or Association on American 

20 Indian Affairs (AAIA). 

21 (E) DATE.—The appointments of the 

22 members of the Commission shall be made not 

23 later than 120 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. 


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1 (4) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES; RE2 MOVAL.— 

3 (A) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—A mem4 ber of the Commission shall be appointed for a 

5 term of 2 years. 

6 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com7 mission— 

8 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

9 Commission; and 

10 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

11 as the original appointment. 

12 (C) REMOVAL.—The President or a Mem13 ber of Congress making an appointment under 

14 paragraph (3)(A) may remove a member ap15 pointed by that President or Member of Con16 gress, respectively, only for neglect of duty or 

17 malfeasance in office. 

18 (5) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

19 the call of the Chairperson. 

20 (6) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

21 the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a 

22 lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

23 (7) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

24 The Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice 


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1 Chairperson from among the members of the Com2 mission. 

3 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de5 velop recommendations on actions the Federal Gov6 ernment can take to adequately address the histor7 ical and intergenerational trauma inflicted by the In8 dian Boarding School Policy, including recommenda9 tions on ways to stop the continued removal of In10 dian children from their families and reservations 

11 under modern-day assimilation practices carried out 

12 by State social service departments, foster care 

13 agencies, and adoption agencies. 

14 (2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied 

15 by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall in16 clude— 

17 (A) the implementation of the Indian 

18 Boarding School Policy at the 460 schools oper19 ated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

20 (B) how the assimilation practices of the 

21 Federal Government advanced the cultural 

22 genocide of Native Americans; and 

23 (C) the impacts and ongoing effects of the 

24 Indian Boarding School Policy. 


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1 (3) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—In carrying out 

2 paragraph (1), the Commission shall locate, docu3 ment, analyze, and preserve records from boarding 

4 schools described in paragraph (2)(A), including any 

5 records held at State and local levels. 

6 (4) TESTIMONY.—The Commission shall take 

7 testimony from survivors of boarding schools de8 scribed in paragraph (2)(A), identifying how the ex9 perience impacts the lives of the survivors, so that 

10 their stories will be remembered as part of the his11 tory of the United States. 

12 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis14 sion shall make publicly available and submit to the 

15 President, the White House Council on Native 

16 American Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, the 

17 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the 

18 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

19 Representatives, and the Members of Congress mak20 ing appointments under paragraph (3)(A), a report 

21 containing— 

22 (A) a detailed statement of the findings 

23 and conclusions of the Commission; 


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1 (B) the recommendations of the Commis2 sion for such legislation and administrative ac3 tions as the Commission considers appropriate; 

4 (C) the recommendations of the Commis5 sion to increase Federal funding to adequately 

6 fund American Indian and Alaska Native pro7 grams for mental health, traditional healing 

8 programs, and mandatory inclusion of Native 

9 American history, including the history of the 

10 Indian Boarding School Policy, in required K– 

11 12 curriculum; and 

12 (D) other related recommendations of the 

13 Commission— 

14 (i) to address historical and intergen15 erational trauma inflicted on American In16 dian and Alaska Native communities by 

17 the Indian Boarding School Policy; and 

18 (ii) to discontinue the harmful prac19 tices and policies that continue in boarding 

20 schools operated or funded by the Bureau 

21 of Indian Education or other educational 

22 facilities operated on Indian reservations. 

23 (d) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commission may 

24 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, 


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1 take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 

2 Commission considers advisable to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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