On March 3, 1819, the Indian Civilization Fund Act became law, authorizing federal funding and efforts aimed at “introducing among [Indigenous people] the habits and arts of civilization,” advancing the practice of forced assimilation. The act was instrumental in the proliferation of Indigenous boarding schools. Over 200 years later, efforts to repair generational trauma stemming from these policies continue.
In July 2024, the Department of the Interior (DOI) Bureau of Indian Affairs released the second volume of an investigative report on Indian boarding school policies, concluding that they were “both traumatic and violent.” The schools were instrumental in advancing harmful cultural assimilation and territorial dispossession of Indigenous people through the forced removal and relocation of their children. This system also discouraged and often prevented Indigenous people from using their languages, connecting with their cultures, and practicing their religions. The DOI report identified additional boarding schools supported or managed by the U.S. government between 1819 and 1969, bringing the total to 417 across 37 states. It also identified 74 child burial sites associated with these schools, a number which is “not complete.”
The federal government did not act alone in this initiative. Driven by federal policy and legislation, religious institutions, including The Episcopal Church, were closely connected to this effort, with approximately 50 percent of the schools receiving full or partial support from churches. As a part of the necessarily parallel work of the church and the federal government to account for this history, we are dedicated to addressing the legacy of violence and abuse perpetrated by boarding schools, including our church’s role in the kidnapping of Indigenous children from their families by participating in the boarding school system. The findings from the DOI report make it clear that the federal government should further commit itself to reconciliation work regarding boarding school policies.
The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, H.R. 7325/S. 761, would establish a truth and healing commission with Native representatives and experts as well as an advisory committee and survivors subcommittee with the following objectives:
Further investigate the attempted termination of cultures, religions, and languages of Indigenous people, as well as the impacts and ongoing effects of historical and intergenerational trauma in Native communities.
Hold public hearings for victims, survivors, and community members to testify and discuss the impact of these policies.
Research and preserve burial sites, including ones yet to be discovered, and the identification of students whose remains are interred therein.
Make recommendations for the federal government to acknowledge and heal the trauma related to the Indian boarding school policies.
Additional Resources:
- Episcopal Church grapples with ‘transformative role’ in Native American residential schools
- Volume I of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report
- Indigenous boarding school research groups merge as Truth, Justice and Healing Commission
Episcopal Church Resolutions:
- EXC042022.10: Establishment of Committee for Indigenous Boarding Schools and Advocacy
- 2018-A004: Set Essential Components of Anti-Racism or Racial Reconciliation Training
- EXC102014.33: Repudiation of the “Doctrine of Discovery”
- 2012-A131: Express Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
- 2009-D035: Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery