‘It’s long overdue’ – Biden apologizes for residential schools in India

US President Joe Biden formally apologized to Native Americans for India’s 150-year-old residential school policy, becoming the first president to do so.

From 1819 to the 1970s, native children were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to federal boarding schools in India. Schools stripped them of their heritage and attempted to assimilate Alaska Native, Native American, and Native Hawaiian children into white American culture.

Speaking while visiting the tribally-controlled Gila Crossing Community School outside Phoenix, Mr. Biden called the program “a sin on our soul” and “a stain on American history.”

While the Biden administration says it is providing billions of dollars to support Native Americans, affected communities say more can be done.