Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I want to thank and acknowledge Senator Schatz, as well as his team on the Indian Affairs Committee, for their work as we have sought to advance S. 1723, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act.

I also want to acknowledge Senator Warren for her help on this and, of course, the Native American Boarding School Coalition and so many of the advocates that really, really have helped us advance this.

As the chairman of the committee has noted, we have worked this legislation over a long period of time, and it is a priority for us in the committee because, for too long--for far too long--this dark legacy of the Indian boarding school era has just kind of sat in the corner, unrecognized and unacknowledged.

From 1819 to 1969, the U.S. Government forcibly removed Native children from their families and Tribes and placed them in boarding schools. These Indian boarding schools, as they came to be called, were not just education institutions, but, oftentimes, they were viewed as tools to eradicate Native cultures, languages, and traditions to ``civilize'' Native American children--again, a very dark era within our government.

So what we seek to do with this bill is to create a commission to bring light to the generational trauma caused by this time of Indian boarding schools. By allowing people's stories to be heard, we can help honor the experience of victims and their families, facilitate healing, and foster greater understanding and empathy among all people.

I think this is a good step and an important step in helping the survivors of Indian boarding schools and the families and communities that were impacted, to help them find healing. We have heard stories--I have heard stories--of many in my State who attended boarding schools, some in the State of Alaska, some outside the State of Alaska, in the listening sessions that Secretary Haaland led, as Secretary of the Interior, on this very important issue. Again, these are stories that must be recognized. And, again, I thank those who have shared them because, at many times, they were very painful, uncovering scars from the past. But how we can offer ways to pursue healing is what this commission is all about.

Again, my thanks to Chairman Schatz for being such a great partner on this legislation, as well as on so many other matters that we have been able to advance successfully through the committee. And my thanks to the chairman's team and to mine, as the ranking member on the committee. We have done good work. It has been a successful year for the committee.

I am hoping--hoping--that there is a path somehow and that this legislation will actually be able to be taken up by the House of Representatives and signed into law. That would be a good and a fitting ending.

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