In 2003, the United Church of Christ’s General Synod passed a resolution addressing the UCC’s role in supporting the shameful history of Indian Boarding Schools. These schools were ideologically rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery, and institutionally began in 1869 with President Grant’s establishment of a “Board of Indian Commissioners” to distribute Indian territories to various Christian denominations for the purposes of building boarding schools. Among these recipients was the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), formed by Congregationalists in Massachusetts in 1810. These schools had the dual intention of evangelization (to “kill the Indian and save the man”) and assimilation, that ultimately resulted in cultural genocide.   

As a church and a nation, we must acknowledge and confess this dark history and support reparations for the cultural, psychological, theological, and physical damage done. But confession needs to be coupled with action.  

That is why this year the United Church of Christ endorsed the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 761). The legislation would establish a formal commission to investigate and document the history of Indian Boarding Schools, including their involvement in ethnocide and violations of human rights. The commission would, among other things, hold public hearings for victims and survivors to share their trauma and the ongoing impact of these schools, and ultimately offer recommendations to the government for further action. 

This bill recently passed out of committee in both the House and the Senate, and Congress will vote soon on its full passage.   

Tell your members of Congress to support S. 761, to move our nation toward a restored future and a right relationship with tribal nations.