[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 28 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 28
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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 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 tombstones 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;
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
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
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That--
(1) it is the sense of Congress that there should be a
national day of remembrance for the Native American children
who died while attending a United States Indian boarding
school;
(2) Congress recognizes, honors, and supports the survivors
and the families and communities of children who attended such
schools; and
(3) Congress encourages the people of the United States--
(A) to 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) to honor the legacy of and remember those who
were lost or harmed by those policies and practices;
and
(C) to appreciate the resilience of the survivors
and their families with appropriate ceremonies,
programs, events, and other activities to support and
commemorate a national day of remembrance.
Passed the Senate January 20, 2022.
Attest:
Secretary.
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 28
_______________________________________________________________________
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.