Biden to apologize on behalf of the country for its role in Native American boarding school system

President Joe Biden will offer a formal apology for the nation's role in a Native American boarding school system that took at least 18,000 Indian children from their homes between 1819 and 1969 and resulted in nearly 1,000 deaths.

Cherokee National Director Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. noted, "Our children were made to live in a world that erased their identities, their culture and upended their spoken language. ... President Biden's apology is a profound moment for Native people across this country."

Biden's apology

Biden's apology is a response to the recommendation of an Interior Department report, which suggested that the country acknowledge and apologize for the legacy of the boarding school system.

This report, initiated after the arrival of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to lead the department, documented the removal of Indian children and deaths at more than 500 boarding schools.

However, there are questions about what concrete action, if any, will follow the apology. Although the Department of the Interior continues to work with tribal nations to repatriate the remains of Indian children on federal lands, not all obstacles have been overcome.