WASHINGTON (July 25, 2024) — On Tuesday, July 30, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will host a press call to discuss progress on the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and the release of Volume 2 of the Department’s investigative report led by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.
In June 2021, Secretary Haaland launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a comprehensive effort to recognize the troubled legacy of past federal Indian boarding school policies with the goal of addressing their intergenerational impact and shedding light on past and present trauma in Indigenous communities. In May 2022, the Department released Volume 1 of an investigative report, detailing available historical records relating to federally run schools and the first official list of schools. Volume 2 significantly expands the number and details of institutions to include student deaths, the number of burial sites, participation of religious institutions, and federal dollars spent to operate these locations. It also includes policy recommendations for consideration by Congress and the Executive Branch to continue to chart a path to healing. In 2023, Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary Newland completed “The Road to Healing,” a historic 12-stop tour across the country that provided Indigenous survivors the opportunity to share their experiences in boarding schools with the federal government for the first time and be connected with trauma-informed support. The Department also launched an oral history project to document and make accessible to the public the experiences of the generations of Indigenous children who attended the federal boarding school system.
WHAT: Press call to announce next steps in Federal Boarding School Initiative
WHEN: Tuesday, July 30 at 2:30 PM ET
WHO:
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland
RSVP: Credentialed members of the media interested in joining should RSVP by filling out this form by Friday, July 26 at 5:00 PM ET. Dial-in information and embargoed materials will be sent upon RSVP confirmation.