Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am here today to follow my colleague Senator Warren to discuss the legislation that we have been working on together, S. 1723. This is the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. As Senator Warren has just noted, this is legislation that will allow the Nation to address a chapter of American history that I think has been overlooked for far too long. This is a dark history, a dark legacy of the Indian boarding school era. From 1819 to 1969--1969, not too terribly long ago--throughout that period, the U.S. Government forcibly removed Native children from their families and their Tribes, placing them in boarding schools. These Indian boarding schools, as they came to be called, were not just education institutions, but many were tools to eradicate Native cultures, languages, and traditions to ``civilize'' Native American children. The traumatic effects of these boarding schools are still being felt by their survivors--not only by their survivors but by their children and really by their communities as well. I heard from some of those survivors who are still with us that the act of sharing, being able to tell the truth about their experiences, can help contribute to healing. But it takes courage, it takes extraordinary courage, and I have heard that. Fred John, Jr., who is the son of Katie John and Fred John, Sr., attended the Wrangell Institute in Alaska. He was assigned the number 77.…”