[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 28 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 28

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 20, 2022

Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Warren, Mr. Rounds, and Mr. 
  Sullivan) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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.

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.
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