Title: Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act
This bill establishes the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States and sets forth its powers, duties, and membership. Among other activities, the commission must study the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian Boarding School Policy (a federal policy under which American Indian and Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from their family homes and placed in boarding schools) and make recommendations to discontinue the removal of American Indian and Alaska Native children from their families and tribal communities by state social service departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8420 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8420

To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
          Policy in the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2020

Ms. Haaland (for herself, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Heck, Ms. Kendra S. Horn of 
   Oklahoma, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. 
   Davids of Kansas, Mr. O'Halleran, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Cole, Mr. 
 Gallego, Ms. McCollum, and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School 
          Policy in the United States, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Truth and Healing Commission on 
Indian Boarding School Policy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The Indian Boarding School Policy was adopted by the 
        United States Government to strip American Indian and Alaska 
        Native (AI/AN) children of their indigenous identities, 
        beliefs, and traditional languages to assimilate them into 
        White American culture through federally funded Christian-run 
        schools, which had the effect of cultural genocide.
            (2) For nearly a century, between 1869 and the 1960s, the 
        Federal Government implemented the Indian Boarding School 
        Policy. This policy authorized the forced removal of hundreds 
        of thousands of AI/AN children, as young as 5 years old, 
        relocating them from their homes in Tribal communities to one 
        of the 367 Indian Boarding Schools across 30 States.
            (3) By 1926, nearly 83 percent of AI/AN school-age children 
        were enrolled in Indian boarding schools in the United States. 
        However, because nearly 62 percent of the school records have 
        been lost or destroyed, the full extent of the Federal Indian 
        boarding school policy has not been identified.
            (4) Gen. Richard Henry Pratt, the founder and 
        superintendent of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 
        Carlisle, Pennsylvania, stated the ethos of this policy to 
        ``kill the Indian in him, and save the man''. Founded in 1879, 
        the Carlisle Indian School set the precedent as the first 
        government-funded off-reservation Indian boarding school in the 
        United States where over 10,000 AI/AN children were enrolled 
        from over 140 Tribes.
            (5) The Indian Boarding School policy was designed to 
        assimilate AI/AN children into White American culture by 
        stripping them of their cultural identities, often through 
        physical, sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuse and 
        neglect. Many of the children who were taken to boarding 
        schools never returned to their communities. At the Carlisle 
        Indian School alone, approximately 180 AI/AN children were 
        buried.
            (6) While attending Indian boarding schools, AI/AN children 
        suffered additional psychological abuses as they were sent to 
        White-owned homes and businesses for involuntary and unpaid 
        manual labor work during the summers. Many children ran away 
        and remained missing, or died of illnesses due to harsh living 
        conditions, abuse, and/or substandard health care provided by 
        the schools.
            (7) Many of the children were buried in unmarked graves or 
        off-campus cemeteries. Inaccurate, scattered, and missing 
        school records make it nearly impossible for families to locate 
        the final resting place of their loved ones, especially since 
        only 38 percent of the school's records have been located from 
        142 of the known 367 boarding schools.
            (8) Parents of the children who were forcibly removed to 
        the boarding schools were prohibited from visiting or engaging 
        in correspondence with their children. Parental resistance to 
        compliance with this harsh no-contact policy resulted in their 
        incarceration or loss of access to basic provisions including 
        food rations, clothing, or both.
            (9) The 2018 Broken Promises Report published by the United 
        States Commission on Civil Rights reported that AI/AN 
        communities continue to experience intergenerational trauma 
        resulting from experiences in Indian Boarding Schools that 
        divided cultural family structures, damaged indigenous 
        identities, and inflicted chronic psychological ramifications 
        on AI/AN children and families.
            (10) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kaiser 
        Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study shows that 
        adverse or traumatic childhood experiences disrupts brain 
        development leading to a higher likelihood of negative health 
        outcomes as adults including, but not limited to, heart 
        disease, obesity, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. AI/ANs 
        suffer from disproportional rates of each of these diseases 
        compared to the national average today.
            (11) The longstanding ramifications of the inhumane 
        treatment of AI/AN children and families at these boarding 
        schools continues to impact Tribal communities through 
        intergenerational trauma, cycles of violence and abuse, 
        disappearance, health disparities, substance abuse, premature 
        deaths, and additional undocumented psychological trauma.
            (12) The continuing lasting implications of the Federal 
        Indian Boarding School Policy and inhumane treatment of AI/AN 
        children and families influenced modern U.S. Department of the 
        Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-operated schools. 
        These schools have often failed to meet the many needs of 
        nearly 50,000 AI/AN students across 23 States.
            (13) The replication of assimilation policies of the 
        boarding school era also presented itself through other Federal 
        programs like the Indian Adoption Project (1958 to 1967) that 
        placed AI/AN children in non-Indian households and institutions 
        for foster care or adoption across 25 States.
            (14) The Association on American Indian Affairs reported 
        that the continuation of cultural genocide and assimilation 
        policies through Federal AI/AN adoption and foster care 
        programs between 1941 to 1967 separated as many as one-third of 
        Native American children from their families in Tribal 
        communities, subsequently prompting the creation of the Indian 
        Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to stop the removal of children.
            (15) In some States, over 50 percent of foster care 
        children in State adoption systems are Native American. The 
        general lack of public awareness, information, and 
        acknowledgment of the residual impacts of the Indian Boarding 
        School Policy and intergenerational trauma remain, signaling 
        the overdue need for an investigative Federal committee to 
        further document and expose the assimilation and cultural 
        genocide implemented under this policy.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To establish a new Truth and Healing Commission on 
        Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States to formally 
        investigate and document, for the first time in history, 
        cultural genocide, assimilation practices, and human rights 
        violations of Indian Boarding Schools in the United States, to 
        study the impact and ongoing effects of historical and 
        intergenerational trauma in Tribal communities, and to provide 
        a forum for Indigenous victims and families to discuss the 
        personal impacts of physical, psychological, and spiritual 
        violence.
            (2) To further develop recommendations for the Federal 
        Government to acknowledge and heal the historical and 
        intergenerational trauma caused by the Federal Indian Boarding 
        School Policy and other cultural genocide practices, including 
        recommendations to stop the continued removal of AI/AN children 
        from their families and Tribal communities under modern-day 
        assimilation practices carried out by State social service 
        departments, foster care agencies, and adoption services.

SEC. 4. TRUTH AND HEALING COMMISSION ON INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL POLICY 
              IN THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Truth 
        and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the 
        United States established by subsection (b)(1).
            (2) Indian boarding school policy.--The term ``Indian 
        Boarding School Policy'' means the policy of the Federal 
        Government under which more than 100,000 American Indian and 
        Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from their family 
        homes and placed in any of 460 Bureau of Indian Affairs-
        operated schools, including 367 Indian boarding schools, at 
        which assimilation and ``civilization'' practices were 
        inflicted on those children as part of the assimilation efforts 
        of the Federal Government, advancing eradication of indigenous 
        peoples' cultures in the United States.
    (b) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--There is established the Truth and Healing 
        Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United 
        States.
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Commission is to 
        investigate the experience, impacts, and ongoing effects of the 
        Indian Boarding School Policy, including the impacts and 
        ongoing effects of the intergenerational trauma inflicted on 
        American Indian and Alaska Native families, including physical, 
        psychological, sexual, and spiritual violence inflicted on 
        Native American children as young as 5 years old for speaking 
        indigenous languages or engaging in traditional practices. In 
        addition to, obtaining accurate records and oral accounts of 
        the events that took place at the boarding schools.
            (3) Membership.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall be composed 
                of members appointed as follows:
                            (i) Not fewer than 1 member appointed by 
                        the President.
                            (ii) Not fewer than 1 member appointed by 
                        the President pro tempore of the Senate, on the 
                        recommendation of the majority leader of the 
                        Senate.
                            (iii) Not fewer than 1 member appointed by 
                        the President pro tempore of the Senate, on the 
                        recommendation of the minority leader of the 
                        Senate.
                            (iv) Not fewer than 2 members appointed by 
                        the Speaker of the House of Representatives, of 
                        whom not fewer than 1 shall be appointed on the 
                        recommendation of the minority leader of the 
                        House of Representatives.
                    (B) Requirements for membership.--To the maximum 
                extent practicable, the President and the Members of 
                Congress shall appoint members of the Commission under 
                subparagraph (A) to represent diverse experiences and 
                backgrounds so as to include Tribal representatives and 
                experts who will provide balanced points of view with 
                regard to the duties of the Commission, including 
                Tribal representatives and experts--
                            (i) from diverse geographic areas; and
                            (ii) who possess personal experience with, 
                        diverse policy experience with, or specific 
                        expertise in, Indian boarding school history or 
                        the Indian Boarding School Policy.
                    (C) Presidential appointment.--The President shall 
                make appointments to the Commission under this 
                paragraph in coordination with the Secretary of the 
                Interior and the Director of the Bureau of Indian 
                Education.
                    (D) Members to be included.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, the membership of the Commission shall 
                include--
                            (i) 1 representative from each of--
                                    (I) the National Native American 
                                Boarding School Healing Coalition;
                                    (II) the National Indian Education 
                                Association;
                                    (III) the American Indian Higher 
                                Education Consortium; and
                                    (IV) National Indian Child Welfare 
                                Association;
                            (ii) the Director or Administrator of--
                                    (I) the Bureau of Indian Education;
                                    (II) the Office of Indian Education 
                                of the Department of Education;
                                    (III) the Administration for Native 
                                Americans of the Administration for 
                                Children and Families of the Department 
                                of Health and Human Services; and
                                    (IV) the National Museum of the 
                                American Indian of the Smithsonian 
                                Institution;
                            (iii) not fewer than--
                                    (I) 5 members of different Indian 
                                Tribes from diverse geographic areas, 
                                to be selected from among nominations 
                                submitted by Indian Tribes;
                                    (II) 2 health care or mental health 
                                practitioners, counselors, or providers 
                                with experience in working with former 
                                students of Indian boarding schools, to 
                                be selected from among nominations of 
                                Tribal chairs or elected Tribal 
                                leadership local to the region in which 
                                the practitioner, counselor, or 
                                provider works;
                                    (III) 3 members of different 
                                national Indian organizations, regional 
                                Indian organizations, or urban Indian 
                                organizations that are focused on, or 
                                have relevant expertise with, the 
                                history and systemic trauma associated 
                                with the Indian Boarding School Policy;
                                    (IV) 4 former students or Indian 
                                survivors who attended Indian boarding 
                                schools;
                                    (V) 2 family members of students 
                                who attended Indian boarding schools, 
                                to represent diverse regions of the 
                                United States;
                                    (VI) 2 students who currently 
                                attend an Indian boarding school, 
                                including not fewer than 1 student who 
                                currently attends the Chemawa Indian 
                                School (OR), Haskell Indian Nations 
                                University (KS), Mount Edgecumbe (AK), 
                                Santa Fe Indian School (NM), or Sherman 
                                Institute (CA);
                                    (VII) 2 students who currently 
                                attend a BIE-operated boarding school, 
                                tribally controlled boarding school, 
                                State public boarding school, private 
                                nonprofit boarding school formerly 
                                operated by the Federal Government, 
                                parochial boarding school, and BIE-
                                operated college or university;
                                    (VIII) 2 former teachers who taught 
                                at an Indian boarding school for not 
                                fewer than 5 years; and
                                    (IX) 1 representative of the 
                                International Indian Treaty Council 
                                (IITC) or Association on American 
                                Indian Affairs (AAIA).
                    (E) Date.--The appointments of the members of the 
                Commission shall be made not later than 120 days after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (4) Period of appointment; vacancies; removal.--
                    (A) Period of appointment.--A member of the 
                Commission shall be appointed for a term of 2 years.
                    (B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission--
                            (i) shall not affect the powers of the 
                        Commission; and
                            (ii) shall be filled in the same manner as 
                        the original appointment.
                    (C) Removal.--The President or a Member of Congress 
                making an appointment under paragraph (3)(A) may remove 
                a member appointed by that President or Member of 
                Congress, respectively, only for neglect of duty or 
                malfeasance in office.
            (5) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the 
        Chairperson.
            (6) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
        shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
        hold hearings.
            (7) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Commission shall 
        select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the 
        members of the Commission.
    (c) Duties of the Commission.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall develop 
        recommendations on actions the Federal Government can take to 
        adequately address the historical and intergenerational trauma 
        inflicted by the Indian Boarding School Policy, including 
        recommendations on ways to stop the continued removal of Indian 
        children from their families and reservations under modern-day 
        assimilation practices carried out by State social service 
        departments, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies.
            (2) Matters studied.--The matters studied by the Commission 
        under paragraph (1) shall include--
                    (A) the implementation of the Indian Boarding 
                School Policy at the 460 schools operated by the Bureau 
                of Indian Affairs;
                    (B) how the assimilation practices of the Federal 
                Government advanced the cultural genocide of Native 
                Americans; and
                    (C) the impacts and ongoing effects of the Indian 
                Boarding School Policy.
            (3) Additional duties.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Commission shall locate, document, analyze, and preserve 
        records from boarding schools described in paragraph (2)(A), 
        including any records held at State and local levels.
            (4) Testimony.--The Commission shall take testimony from 
        survivors of boarding schools described in paragraph (2)(A), 
        identifying how the experience impacts the lives of the 
        survivors, so that their stories will be remembered as part of 
        the history of the United States.
            (5) Report.--Not later than 24 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Commission shall make publicly 
        available and submit to the President, the White House Council 
        on Native American Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
        Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on 
        Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and the 
        Members of Congress making appointments under paragraph (3)(A), 
        a report containing--
                    (A) a detailed statement of the findings and 
                conclusions of the Commission;
                    (B) the recommendations of the Commission for such 
                legislation and administrative actions as the 
                Commission considers appropriate;
                    (C) the recommendations of the Commission to 
                increase Federal funding to adequately fund American 
                Indian and Alaska Native programs for mental health, 
                traditional healing programs, and mandatory inclusion 
                of Native American history, including the history of 
                the Indian Boarding School Policy, in required K-12 
                curriculum; and
                    (D) other related recommendations of the 
                Commission--
                            (i) to address historical and 
                        intergenerational trauma inflicted on American 
                        Indian and Alaska Native communities by the 
                        Indian Boarding School Policy; and
                            (ii) to discontinue the harmful practices 
                        and policies that continue in boarding schools 
                        operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian 
                        Education or other educational facilities 
                        operated on Indian reservations.
    (d) Powers of Commission.--The Commission may hold such hearings, 
sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive 
such evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out this 
section.
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