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Category: Editorials Editorials
Published: 25 August 2022 25 August 2022

Dear Editor,

The Santa Fe Friends Meeting (Quakers) requests publication of the following letter on Indian boarding schools. Thank you.

Between 1796 and 1969, in 408 schools across 37 states and in over 1,000 other institutions, including Indian day schools, orphanages, and asylums, Native American and Alaska Native children were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in Indian boarding schools. There, the children were forced to reject their Native languages, cultures, and spiritual practices, and adopt Euro-American culture. Native Americans continue to suffer from the multi-generational trauma caused by policies of forced assimilation and cultural genocide.

The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Policies Act (H.R. 5444/S. 2907), expanding Department of the Interior initiatives, would establish the first formal commission in U.S. history to investigate the mental, physical, and inter-generational trauma that these schools continue to inflict on tribal communities. The Commission would provide recommendations to Congress to take further action and promote truth, reconciliation, and healing.

Santa Fe Quakers encourage everyone to actively support this legislation.
--
John A. Kretzmann, clerk
Santa Fe Friends Meeting (Quaker)
Santa Fe, NM