III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 28 

Expressing the sense of Congress that September 30 should be observed 

as a national day of remembrance for the Native American children 

who died while attending a United States Indian boarding school and 

recognizing, honoring, and supporting the survivors of Indian boarding 

schools, their families, and their communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 20, 2022 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. WARREN, Mr. ROUNDS, and 

Mr. SULLIVAN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress that September 30 should 

be observed as a national day of remembrance for the 

Native American children who died while attending a 

United States Indian boarding school and recognizing, 

honoring, and supporting the survivors of Indian boarding schools, their families, and their communities. 

Whereas, more than 200 years ago, the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 

making provision for the civilization of the Indian tribes 

adjoining the frontier settlements’’, approved March 3, 

1819 (3 Stat. 516, chapter 85) (commonly known as the 

‘‘Civilization Fund Act’’), was enacted and ushered in 

devastating policies and practices designed to assimilate 

American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian 


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children by removing the children from their families and 

Native communities throughout the United States; 

Whereas that Act intended to resolve what was commonly referred to in the United States as the ‘‘Indian problem’’ 

and was based on the unjust belief of many that Native 

people needed to be ‘‘civilized’’ and that education would 

be the appropriate vehicle to enact assimilationist policies 

on Native American people; 

Whereas, pursuant to that Act, numerous church- and government-operated boarding schools were established on 

and off Indian territories and homelands to house and 

educate numerous Native American children through 

policies and practices that sought to eliminate the cultural identity of Native children and assimilate them into 

mainstream United States society; 

Whereas, according to the Native American Rights Fund, 

Native American families were torn apart by the removal 

of Native American children, either voluntarily or forcibly, from their homelands and communities to attend Indian boarding schools located across the country; 

Whereas many parents of children sent to Indian boarding 

schools were forbidden to contact or visit their children, 

compounding the problem of isolation that negatively impacted and continues to impact the lives of many Native 

children, their families, and their communities; 

Whereas the Native American Rights Fund also reported that 

an unidentified number of Native children died at Indian 

boarding schools due to abuse, neglect, malnourishment, 

or disease, and many of those children were buried far 

from their homes in unmarked graves or under tombVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC28.ATS SC28

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stones that misidentified the children or ascribed Anglicized names to the children; 

Whereas many of the parents of children who died at Indian 

boarding schools were never informed of the fate of their 

children; 

Whereas, according to a report issued by the Native American Rights Fund, many survivors of Indian boarding 

schools have testified that Indian boarding schools 

stripped Native American children of their traditional 

cultures, languages, and religions by forbidding the children to wear traditional clothing, speak their Indigenous 

languages, or practice their cultural, religious, or spiritual beliefs, and many of the boarding schools are known 

to have severely punished children who violated these 

policies through verbal, psychological, and physical abuse; 

Whereas many survivors of Indian boarding schools and families of children who attended those schools have recounted details of the physical, sexual, and psychological 

abuse that countless Native American children endured 

while attending the schools; 

Whereas, according to the report entitled ‘‘The Problem of 

Indian Administration’’ and dated February 21, 1928 

(commonly known as the ‘‘Meriam Report’’), many Indian boarding schools sent students to nearby communities for forced manual work as servants or farm laborers, and the operation of many Indian boarding schools 

was supported by the labor of the students; 

Whereas the Federal policy of Indian assimilation and education has proven to be a disastrous failure and a national tragedy; 


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Whereas, as stated in the report entitled ‘‘Indian Education: 

A National Tragedy—A National Challenge’’ and dated 

November 3, 1969 (Senate Report 91–501) (commonly 

known as the ‘‘Kennedy Report’’), ‘‘the dominant policy 

of the Federal Government toward the American Indian 

has been one of coercive assimilation’’ that had ‘‘disastrous effects’’ on the education of many Native American 

children; 

Whereas, in 2018, the United States Commission on Civil 

Rights reported that many American Indian and Alaska 

Native people suffer from intergenerational trauma as a 

result of policies and practices of Indian boarding schools 

that alienated many children from their families, traditional cultures, languages, and religions, and deprived 

those children of their true identities and heritage; 

Whereas, while early assimilationist policies were eventually 

eliminated and Indian boarding school attendance has 

greatly diminished since its apex, the impact of this 

shameful period in United States history still affects the 

lives of many Native American people today; 

Whereas many Native American people are still suffering 

from and trying to comprehend and cope with direct 

trauma, including impacts on health and well-being, and 

the intergenerational trauma, that resulted from losing 

connection to family, culture, language, religion, and heritage; 

Whereas significant research shows that adverse childhood 

experiences, such as the experiences of many Native 

American children who attended Indian boarding schools 

and the descendants of those children, can cause numerous negative health outcomes, increased suicide rates, 

and other harmful outcomes throughout life; and 


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Whereas recognition that healing and promotion of care for 

the mind, body, and spirit is essential to overcoming the 

dark shadows on United States history cast by Federal 

Indian assimilationist policies and practices carried out 

by the Federal Government through Indian boarding 

schools and acknowledging the lived experiences of the 

Native American children and families who endured and 

continue to endure the trauma and grief associated with 

Indian boarding schools: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That— 

3 (1) it is the sense of Congress that there should 

4 be a national day of remembrance for the Native 

5 American children who died while attending a 

6 United States Indian boarding school; 

7 (2) Congress recognizes, honors, and supports 

8 the survivors and the families and communities of 

9 children who attended such schools; and 

10 (3) Congress encourages the people of the 

11 United States— 

12 (A) to support and recognize the grief, 

13 pain, and hardship many Native American peo14 ple suffered and still endure as a result of the 

15 assimilationist policies and practices carried out 

16 by the United States through Indian boarding 

17 school policies; 


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1 (B) to honor the legacy of and remember 

2 those who were lost or harmed by those policies 

3 and practices; and 

4 (C) to appreciate the resilience of the sur5 vivors and their families with appropriate cere6 monies, programs, events, and other activities 

7 to support and commemorate a national day of 

8 remembrance. 

Æ 


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