|
Last month, Congressional Native American Caucus Co-Chairs, Representative Tom Cole (R-OK-04) and Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS-03), reintroduced H.R. 7325, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act of 2025, to formally investigate, document, and report on the history and policies of Indian boarding schools, as well as the long-term effects that these institutions have on Native American peoples.
From 1819 through the 1970s, the United States government implemented policies establishing Indian boarding schools across the nation. The purpose of these schools was to assimilate Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children by forcibly removing them from their families, communities, and cultural beliefs.
In total, there were more than 526 government-funded and church-run Indian boarding schools, and, by 1926, nearly 86 percent of Indian school-age children were forcibly attending these schools. Yet, little is known about what happened at these boarding schools or what happened to the Native children who attended them. According to the National Native American Indian Boarding School Healing Coalition, there were at least 18 Indian Boarding Schools in North Dakota.
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.
The Episcopal Church is 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.
You can ask North Dakota members of Congress to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act as a key part of telling the truth and gaining a fuller understanding of the impact on children, parents, communities, and tribal nations who were impacted by the boarding schools. Go to the Episcopal Church Action Alerts website to send a message to your Congressional Representatives: https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/office-government-relations/action-alerts/
The content for this Civic Spotlight came from various sources:
| 
