Oct. 24 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will visit the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona on Friday to usher in the next era of federal-tribal relationships by acknowledging past harms.
Biden is issuing a formal presidential apology for harms caused during the federal Indian boarding school era.
“For over 150 years, the federal government ran boarding schools that forcibly removed generations of native children from their homes to boarding schools often far away,” a White House fact sheet issued Thursday states.
“Native children at these schools endured physical, emotional and sexual abuse” and “at least 973 died in these schools,” the fact sheet states.
The Biden administration in 2021 announced the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative that recognizes the troubled history of federal Indian boarding school policies during the 19th and 20th centuries and their enduring negative impact that often lasted for generations.
Biden also will outline transformative investment to enhance tribal sovereignty and self-determination while respecting aboriginal cultures and protecting their sacred sites, the White House announced Thursday in a fact sheet.
Biden has issued three executive orders that reform federal funding to support tribes by improving their self-determination, public safety, criminal justice and educational outcomes.
Biden also will acknowledge harms suffered by indigenous tribes, including murdered and missing tribal members, while emphasizing improved educational and career opportunities.
Biden’s executive actions have allocated $32 billion in direct federal investment to support tribes, and $13 billion to provide access to high-speed internet service and improve roads, bridges, public transit and clean water sanitation infrastructure.
Another $700 million help tribal communities adapt to climate change, including assisting with drought mitigation, provide residential electrical service and developing clean energy sources.
The federal Buy Indian Act also helps support businesses owned or controlled by aboriginal Americans.
The Gila River Indian Community is located south of Phoenix and Chandler.
