Expressing the sense of Congress that September 30th be observed as the designation of a national day of remembrance for the Native American children who died while attending a United States Indian boarding school and recognize honor and support the survivors of Indian boarding schools their families and communities.

Expressing the sense of Congress that September 30th be observed as the designation of a national day of remembrance for the Native American children who died while attending a United States Indian boarding school and recognize, honor, and support the survivors of Indian boarding schools, their families, and communities. Whereas over 200 years ago, the Act entitled An Act making provision for the civilization of the Indian tribes adjoining the frontier settlements Civilization Fund Act Whereas that Act intended to resolve what was commonly referred to in the United States as the Indian problem civilized Whereas 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 American society; Whereas according to the Native American Rights Fund in a Summer/Fall 2013 Legal Review, Volume 38, No. 2, 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 boarding school children 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, families, and communities; Whereas the Native American Rights Fund Summer/Fall 2013 Legal Review 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 tombstones that misidentified or ascribed to them Anglicized names; 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 the report entitled Trigger Points, Current State of Research on History, Impacts, and Healing Related to the United States’ Indian Industrial/Boarding School Policy 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 Meriam Report Whereas the Federal policy of Indian assimilation and education has proven to be a disastrous failure and a national tragedy; Whereas, as stated in the report entitled Indian Education: A National Tragedy—A National Challenge Kennedy Report the dominant policy of the Federal Government toward the American Indian has been one of coercive assimilation disastrous effects 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 such children, can cause numerous negative health outcomes, increase suicide rates, and other harmful outcomes throughout life; and Whereas recognition that healing and care for the mind, body, and spirit is essential to overcoming the dark shadows of United States history of Federal Indian assimilationist policies and practices that were 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 That Congress— (1) supports the designation of a national day of remembrance for the Native American children who died while attending a United States Indian boarding school; (2) recognizes, honors, and supports the survivors, families, and communities of children who attended such schools; and (3) encourages the people of the United States to— (A) support and recognize the grief, pain, and hardship many Native American people suffered and still endure as a result of the assimilationist policies and practices carried out by the United States through Indian boarding school policies; (B) honor the legacy of and remember those who were lost or harmed by Federal assimilation policies and practices; and (C) appreciate the resilience of the survivors and their families with appropriate ceremonies, programs, events, and other activities to support and commemorate with a national day of remembrance.

Summary: This concurrent resolution supports the designation of a national day of remembrance for the Native American children who died while attending an Indian boarding school in the United States.