Recently, President Joe Biden offered a formal apology for forcing Native children into boarding schools. He described the violence, the cruelty, and the trauma enacted on children. Below are some public responses from Native people.

Matthew War Bonnet, Sicangu Lakota from the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota, said: “I think the spirits of those children who went to [boarding] school before me rejoiced” to hear the apology.

James LaBelle, Iñupiaq, said: “An apology is one thing, but it’s what happens next that tells the tale. Will the U.S. truth and reconciliation bill be passed? Will we get healing centers? Will we get funding for language revitalization? Our lands back?”

Tara Zhaabowekwe Houska, the civil rights activist who offered a plenary at the FGC Gathering in 2021, wrote: “You can’t build your holy land on the mass graves of other people’s children. You can’t apologize for the genocide of our people while committing genocide on another people. We are not your shield. #LandBack and arms embargo, now.”

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[Image description: Golden leaves with a faded dark brown background and the words “An apology is one thing…” – James LaBelle, Inupiaq. FGC’s logo is in the bottom left-hand corner.]

[Image description: Gray-blue overtones on the skeletons of two trees. The words below them say, “It’s been long, long overdue.” – Denise Watso, Abenaki citizen of Odanak First Nation]

[Image description: A withered rose with a sky-blue background. The words on the left say, “We are not your shield.” -Tara Houska, Zhaabowekwe]