Apology for Abuses at US Indian Schools
The White Buffalo Prophecy tells of a time when a white buffalo calf would be born, and that birth would signal a time of Great Healing for All Nations. That white buffalo calf - the first of many - was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1994. Her name was Miracle.
It is in the spirit of the White Bison Prophecy, that we call upon all peoples to join us in signing this petition supporting a US apology and healing for the widespread abuse of Native American children at the nearly 500 schools funded by the US government to assimilate Native American people.
There is a growing body of evidence that the trauma Native American children carried home with them from the schools is an underlying cause of the suicides and substance abuse-related deaths that are killing young Native people today in alarming numbers.
This petition will be hand delivered to Washington, D.C., following a 6,800-mile, cross-country journey by White Bison to 23 present and former Indian school sites (http://www.wellbrietyjourney.org/). The vision is to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness for what happened at the schools so that we can collectively heal from this tragic chapter in United States history.
This petition calls upon the President of the United States to issue a formal apology for what the US government allowed to happen to Native American children at the schools and for the intergenerational trauma that is still negatively affecting Native individuals, families & communities to this day.
White Bison, Inc., is a non-profit organization that for the last 20 years has provided culturally-relevant assistance and resources to Native American communities in healing (http://www.whitebison.org/)
The White Buffalo Prophecy tells of a time when a white buffalo calf would be born, and that birth would signal a time of Great Healing for All Nations. That white buffalo calf - the first of many - was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1994. Her name was Miracle.
It is in the spirit of the White Bison Prophecy, that we call upon all peoples to join us in signing this petition supporting a US apology and healing for the widespread abuse of Native American children at the nearly 500 schools funded by the US government to assimilate Native American people.
There is a growing body of evidence that the trauma Native American children carried home with them from the schools is an underlying cause of the suicides and substance abuse-related deaths that are killing young Native people today in alarming numbers.
This petition will be hand delivered to Washington, D.C., following a 6,800-mile, cross-country journey by White Bison to 23 present and former Indian school sites (http://www.wellbrietyjourney.org/). The vision is to promote awareness, dialogue and forgiveness for what happened at the schools so that we can collectively heal from this tragic chapter in United States history.
This petition calls upon the President of the United States to issue a formal apology for what the US government allowed to happen to Native American children at the schools and for the intergenerational trauma that is still negatively affecting Native individuals, families & communities to this day.
White Bison, Inc., is a non-profit organization that for the last 20 years has provided culturally-relevant assistance and resources to Native American communities in healing (http://www.whitebison.org/)
We, the undersigned, call upon you to formally apologize on behalf of the US Federal Government and the People of this Great Nation for the widespread abuse of Native American children at the nearly 500 schools funded by the US government to assimilate Native American people.
There is a growing body of evidence that the traumas experienced by Native American children at the schools is largely responsible for the alarming levels of suicides, substance abuse, domestic violence and child sexual abuse in Native American communities today.
We ask you to join the leaders of Canada and Australia by apologizing to First Nations people here for what was allowed to happen to children at the schools, and for the scars of hurt and pain that it left on generations of Native American people.
We seek this apology not to go after monetary reparations from the government, but to promote a collective healing of all Americans for this tragic chapter in our nation's history.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
let's learn from our people because they are not our people, we owe them everthing that we have.
I have felt deeply my entire life the abuse imposed upon not only Native Children but the culture totally. Since a child I have loved Nature and Mother Earth. We, as a white race, have abused Mother Earth terribly. She is a living being. We must turn the tide. Native Americans have the greatest and most beautiful respect for their heritage and Mother Earth. We must learn from them! Those poor children ripped from their culture and parents....terrible. One learns in the 12 step programs in the world that one does not impose one's values on another, but to honor and respect their beliefs and way of life. What a beautiful heritage they have. Canada, South America, Australia have all offered apologies to their indigenous people, how shameful that we have not. As a nation we have much to learn from them and it would be wise to place a few on our cabinets, or as Secretary of the Environment. They would know how to clean up the mess we whites have created.SHAMEFUL what is happening. A Mohawk member of that tribe told me that there is no place now on Earth where water is pure. He claims his/our grandchildren will not live to full life expectancy because of pollution. Other prophecies state a period of great purification is at hand. Wake up Mr. President and Congress! Your millions and billions do not feed the soul as does a walk in a quiet wood to hear the voices of the creatures. PLEASE apologize and begin to clean up Mother Earth. It is she alone that sustains us along with sun and water. STOP WAR! CLEAN UP EARTH! THE ONLY ANSWER!
I am not a Native American but I believe deeply that they had right attitudes about everything. Where we have our Ten Commandments they had their Seven Agreements. Number 2;To Preserve and Promote the beauties of Nature. No other religion states such a belief as these beautiful people and look what we did to them! Shame on our government.
An apology is just the beginning to righting wrongs, right actions also need to be taken.
I am a Boriken Taino. The US gov't removed a number of my ancestors from Boriken (the new world name is Puerto Rico - as a Taino I do not acknowledge a name imposed upon us), took them away to the same schools our Northern Brothers and Sisters were removed to, away from loved ones, our ways and community. We continue to mourn our loss.
My grandmother, my mother, myself and my children have all been effected by the boarding school my grandmother was sent to.
My family is in the third generation since my grandmother was in the boarding school. The break down of the native american traditional family and the attempt at assimillation has done great injury to all of the native families for the last three generations. These people are searching for a way to find their role, respect and identity. The health statistics and substance abuse statistics prove this.
What we (my ancestors) have done to the Native American people is simply unconsciable(sic).. I feel guilty myself for how we destroyd the Native American people, their culture and religion. I believe the nation as a whole also feels this guilt, as we should. I remember as a child seeing drunken men on the street in Michigan. Let us tell the whole story, let us hear and be consious of what we did and let us pray for forgiveness.
This is a very small part--though a VERY important part--of the reasons apology is absolutely needed. There can be no beginning to the necessary healing without this first step.
Please take a few minutes to read through and sign this petition. It means a lot to all Native Americans. Thanks Diane
I continue to witness poor treatment of native american people especially in health care and job opportunities..
I met and interviewed three elderly ladies who used our clinic. They would express their experience at the Genoa School and it brought tears to their eyes, still. The year was 1986 and they were in there 80's, my heart broke for them and I as a white woman felt guilty. Guilty not for doing anything to them, but guilty for the treatment of the native americans by my own people.
It is always good to apologize when mistakes have been made.
Europeans moved into North American, divided, conquered and took by force what was not theirs to take. It was the way of the empire. I can not change that but the native americans with whom I share a few dna have always had a place in my heart and never have had the the respect and dignity they deserve from American society. Wrong is wrong and what happened was wrong. That needs to be acknowledged not only by me but by the American gov.
It is time the U.S Goverment step up and admit that is policies where aimed at destroying a culture. Genocide is the word that comes to mind. With the admission should come an apology.
In my life time we were made to feel ashamed of who we were. Our land, language and idenity were taken away through the boarding schools and assimilation programs. Some of our women were stelized in government funded clinics.
It is time that the US government step forward and apologize. The Canadian government took several steps in this direction beginning in March 1998, the government made a Statement of Reconciliation – including an apology to those people who were sexually or physically abused while attending residential schools – and established the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized, on behalf of the sitting Cabinet, in front of an audience of Aboriginal delegates, and in an address that was broadcast nationally on the CBC, for the past governments' policies of assimilation. The Prime Minister apologized not only for the known excesses of the residential school system, but for the creation of the system itself.
The atrocity of the cultural stripping of the native peoples is a huge energetic burden on the ability of the US to be effective as a leader in human rights on the global stage. I have personally seen the devastation of families and their culture during my time with the Navajo people in Arizona and New Mexico. The native people are being held hostage in poverty and deprivation.
As a Native American I join my voice with others calling for a US apology for the decades of abuse of our Native American children and prayer for the healing of our people.
I and every Native American today are the result of the abuse that was given to our ancestors. How our families have dealt with it is what we are today. Some children were abused more than others and their families are the ones who we see on the streets bumming for the next fix or they are WORKALOCOHOLS.
My Grandfather was one who made it (the abuse) not pass on as bad as other children--by the time he talked to me he didn't have a bad thing to say about the he was treated. The way he said it was the only thing I didn't like was having to put on those cowboy boots without socks.
The work I have done with families from the Pacific Northwest and western region of the U.S. shows me that intergenerational stress continues to play a role in a number of issues and problems within families of indigenous backgrounds. The woundedness of identity is a major problem that must be addressed within families, but also within the larger historical context of society. The government is responsible for its promises, made in a series of broken treaties. We as a people also need to address the indigenous and mixed indigenous people's condition if we are to heal and unite as a nation. We cannot pretend that an entier chapter of our history has not happened, and thatan entire part of our population does not exist. We are part of the nation, and our voices need to be heard, our woundedness needs to be addressed, and our part in healing with this nation needs to be acknowledged and understood.
It is time for the young and any one who is Native American to stand up and be proud of who they are and be able to live and be happy no matter what. The government did this culture so wrong when it gave this country so much. I have always been very proud to say I am Indian and my son also. Its time for healing in so many ways. Our government stepping up and doing the right thing is a big part of it. All acts of Love and Pleasure are my Rituals Live Well - Laugh Often - Love Much FaerieDragon
My grandmother grew up in a time where it was against the law to say you were Cherokee. Until she died she never would admit she was. That is not a way to live, not be able to admit your own culture. Life should not be like that. All acts of Love and Pleasure are my Rituals Live Well - Laugh Often - Love Much FaerieDragon
Please add your comments about why you support this petition.
How have US Indian schools impacted you, your family, your community, or the nation?
It breaks my heart knowing that this beautiful country, respected by the true americans has been turned into something so ugly. That they were MURDERED, and continue to be disrespected for somthing they loved. The students deserve a HUGE apology,respect and compensation.
I've heard people talk about what happened to them at the Catholic Indian Schools - disgraceful! Today those nuns and priests would be arrested. I spent time while growing up on the reservation and saw the poverty and hardache.I could go on for hours.Nothing can make up for past and present abuses.
An apology would require the government to acknowledge the abuses inflicted upon the Native Peoples of this land beginning with the first European people to arrive upon it's shores; therefore I do not expect an apology will be forthcoming anytime soon. Even if an apology comes, it cannot even begin to restore what was stolen: land, dignity, soveignty and culture, just to name a few.
I suopport this because many native ameican families and individuals suffered tramatic abuse. I feel that all those who suffered under the condition of the Boarding Schools should have apology given, with remorse from the government and churches, who thought they were destroying the Native American Race. We are still here, regardless of what abuse you may have used against us, we will be here for a long time.
It has brought many issues to my community, we watch the drug and alcohol destoy our family loved ones, because of the boarding school ere, we are fighting to restore our once rich culture and identy.
I live in England and the sadness of my heart when I hear of and see these things I cannot describe hope that acknowledgement of the past mistakes comes to all the native people of america hope your healing can begin soon all our love carole and family xxxx
The trauma inflicted on our First Nations communities by the boarding school experience continues to roll down from generation to generation. Our collective healing depends on American society's full acknowledgement of the effects of this historical attempt at cultural genocide. A formal apology from the President would be a good start & would certainly serve raise general awareness of the issue.
The native american has always been misunderstood and mistreated by outsiders wanting to claim birth-rites in america.the least one could do to make amends is to help the children of the ancestors so wrongly treated and acknowledge wrongs done.
Dear President Obama, I am writing this to implore you to become an active member of the Native community by participating in the healing so desperately needed by Native people in our country. I am confident that if you, The President of the United States, will lead Native people in a journey toward healing by supporting this petition that others will follow your example. In my life and my family circle, there has been abundant substance & sexual abuse. This has caused a repetitive cycle of neglect and self-destructive behaviours by my many family members. The ever-broadening waves of destruction impact more and more family members and will continue until the Traditions that were forcibly removed from our lives by boarding school assimilation initiatives are restored to Native people again. Then, we can heal and become, again, a proud and healthy Peoples and Nations. Please consider this petition and issue a long overdue public apology to Native people. Sincerely, Alexa R Horoshak Gaa-waabaabiganikaag White Earth Anishinaabe
How have US Indian schools impacted you, your family, your community, or the nation?
I have seen the results of the trauma. I have listened to the stories first hand. There is no excuse for the damages done. There is no way AMerica can EVER defend the behavior of the schools, regardless of what they felt "at that time" was best for the "Natives." An apology? If Native Americans believe that a formal apology issued by the President of the United States, coupled with genuine awareness, dialogue and forgiveness will begin the necessary healing.... then by all means, let the apologetic bugle be sounded from coast to coast, from door to door, from river to river and from soul to soul as soon as is humanly possible!
I lived, worked and taught on the Navajo Reservation for three years. Until that time, I had never heard of these boarding schools. I was never told of them in my white schools, never read of them in my conservative history books or talked of them in my college classes. On the reservation, I wept as I learned how children were taken away from their parents as they tended sheep in the fields, put into wagons and hauled off to these schools where they were treated worse then the same sheep they had just left. They were often hosed down, scrubbed with disenfectant, deloused, their sacred hair shaved and/or cut short, their language forbidden to be spoken and they were beaten if they tried to run away. This I learned from their oft drunken mouths. This I learned from their guilt-filled Mothers, this I learned from their broken sisters.
It has been long overdue that the TRUE founders of this Great Land receive their due. As a Culture the Indigenous People of North America have been consistently manipulated and broken down to give in to the Europeans and their beliefs. It is RIGHT and FAIR that the Native Americans be given what was promised and taken from them over the centuries.
As a white woman I believe it is necessary to stand with my Native relatives and acknowledge that great trauma was visited upon them intentionally by a conquering society. Today, the United States wages war against nations who behave in this manner, as if forgetting that the efforts to eradicate native populeations in the United States served as the model for Hitler's holocaust. Remarkable that we could chastise and punish the Germans while continuing to oppress our Native peoples without previously recognizing and taking accountability for our behavior as a nation.
The loss of culture and stability within Native American tribes is a loss for all of the residents of the United States. The continued lack of adequate and even handed funding to tribes and their members in the areas of education, health and welfare continues to foster lack of access to mainstream social, educational and professional opportunities which would greatly benefit from participation of people who have an inherent understanding of the relationship between all things and a drive toward balance and harmony among all beings. The mainstream society has lost many opportunities to learn from the Native population. Further, the ignorance of the vast majority of Americans regarding the plight of Native Americans serves as a continued shameful blindness to exploitation and oppression. In South Africa, apartheid ended not with an election but with the famous strategy of demanding accountability for heinous crimes on the part of the previous ruling class and fostering forgiveness from those victimized by those crimes. Again, the United States was a vocal opponent of apartheid (granted after supporting or ignoring it for many too many years) and yet, in many ways, continues to engage in its own brand of apartheid in the treatment of Native Americans, witness the remarkable response of surprise and defensiveness as Native Americans have turned capitalism to the benefit of their peoples. The government is surprised and appalled that Native peoples would expect to be recompensed for years of government supported rape of mineral rights; grazing rights; etc through the BIA's management on behalf of tribes. The government eyes the funds generated through casino activity on Native lands with an increasing desire to take that money after refusing to share the wealth equitably for so many generations. The United States underfunds treatment services to Native Americans for the continued health impacts such as alcoholism; domestic violence; sexual abuse which arose from the forced separation of Native chidren from their families and the placement of those precious children with depraved and personality disordered persons who could whip a child for speaking their native tongue and feel entitled to molest that same child. The United States needs to work its own 12 step program in coming to terms with the addiction to wealth and power over others that continues to plague our country today.
I feel the culture of the natives in the Untied States was crippled by the boarding school. This set in place the events that have lead to many of the social problems that are part of natives today. I am hoping the apology will occur.
Apologies are deserved by the Native American nation in an effort to diminish the injustice that has been thrust upon it since the creation of this nation. These physical and social crimes have negatively impacted the development of the young. By signing the petition the president will show that he hopes that his words will begin the process of healing between the American and Native American peoples.
I believe the long hidden atrocities suffered by countless, innocent children, in these U.S. boarding schools has now been unveiled and serves as proof for all to see. I pray that pain will no longer act as a shameful secret used to bind hearts and minds through fearful ways. No. Instead the shame has turned itself around and this shame clearly resides on the shoulders and faces of those holding positions of "responsibility" within the U.S. Government. This letter of appeal acts not only as an opportunity for the U.S. Government to accept full responsibility by acknowledging and apologizing to everyone man, woman, and child affected yesterday, today, and tomorrow by such gross negligence. It also acts as a doorway into healing an afflicted nation. For, pain inflicted on one, is inflicted on all. Just as this simple law of physics states: "for every cause there is an effect" - these actions and reactions flow out like ripples in a universal pond. Let the next ripple effect, lift the veil of shame. Restore dignity in yourselves by doing your best. Live up to your highest potential and great things are possible. Let us begin a new journey. Let us join together empower ourselves, our families, our communities, government, and most importantly each other. It is a new dawn. Please grant The People this simple courtesy of a public apology. It would be a step in the right direction, a step to restore hope, kindness, and respect for yourselves (as members of the U.S. Governmental body) and for The People of this nation. Thank you. ~ Victoria Hughot ~
An apology to native people who had to live through this nightmare is very long over due. For to long The People have been dominated, by a government that is reckless and uncaring for Mother Earth and her many resources and The People, who were chosen to be the guardians.
Please take care of this!It will be appreciated!
If the healing is to begin, then the admission and realization of a harm being done to others has to be acknowledged in order for a successful consumation of the process of healing to take place
What would have happend if the government would have not tried to take away the native peoples' culture and make them adopt the white mans' ways? By doing this we have disgraced the spirit of real freedom that this country is suppose to be about.
I support this petition because it's the right thing to do. We must begin taking responsibility for our actions which cause harm unto others.
The USA is the big State,the first state for the democracy in the world. Ok? Because don't reconize the first people of this land,the Native American People and don't learn the theaching of Native American Elders. Whit this simple teaching the Worl excange,for me in better manner.Thank You!
Come hanno influito US scuole indiane voi, la vostra famiglia, la vostra comunità, o la nazione?
