Indian children were forcefully taken from their families to what were called Indian Boarding, or Residential Schools. These schools were sometimes hundreds of miles away. There, attempts were made to erase their Indigenous culture and force them to adopt White culture. There was widespread emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. Thousands died.
Support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
The House Natural Resource Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples is accepting written testimony in support of H.R. 5444, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. There are two ways you can send your written testimony for the bill. One is by using The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition’s resources. Secondly, information…
Keep reading
It’s time to elevate Indigenous voices
As I was praying about what to write this morning, I was thinking about the title from an email from Grist magazine: It’s time to elevate Indigenous voices It’s time to elevate Indigenous voices It’s clear that Indigenous leaders and communities play a critical role in climate action and have already faced significant climate threats.…
Keep reading
What would it mean to reckon with our past complicity with harm?
As the world falls apart, I wonder where faith communities are? Where are White Christians, White Quakers? As my friend Lucy Duncan writes, “we as White Quakers like to think of ourselves as ahead or better than dominant culture, but we have been complicit in a system and mindset that are ubiquitous.” Recognizing the White…
Keep reading
DRAFT: NPYM Minute of Support for Indigenous People
Two interrelated developments are finally bringing much needed attention to Indigenous peoples and forced assimilation as I wrote in Indian Boarding Schools: 1. One is the search and finding of the remains of Indigenous children on the grounds of Indian Boarding Schools in Canada and the US. The second is the release of the Federal…
Keep reading
Indian Boarding Schools: 1
Finally, some national attention is being given to the terrible history of Indian Boarding Schools in this country. Many object to characterizing these institutions of forced assimilation as “schools”. There is a long and complicated history related to the policies and implementation of forced assimilation in the United States and Canada. Forced assimilation is an involuntary…
Keep reading
Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative
The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, May 2022, has just been released. The forced assimilation of Indigenous children has been a deep concern of mine. There is a long history regarding Quaker involvement in this. I hope Friends will be led to share what they know with their friends and neighbors. The general…
Keep reading
Quakers and Religious Socialism 