Biden visited his home country and apologized for the “sin” of 150 years of residential school policy

NORMAN, Okla. – President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to Native Americans for the “sin” of the government’s residential school system that forcibly separated Indian children from their parents for decades, calling it a “stain on American history” during his first visit to his home country.

“This is a sin on our soul,” Biden said in a voice filled with anger and emotion. “Frankly, there is no excuse for the fact that it took 50 years to get this apology.”

Biden spoke about the abuses and deaths of local children resulting from federal government policies, saying the shameful story remains unknown and needs to be told. The president detailed how his policies are aimed at supporting Native Americans with jobs and new infrastructure.

Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the land of the Gila River Indian Community on the outskirts of metro Phoenix, Arizona, will also provide a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout in the key battleground state.

Biden, whose presidency is coming to an end, promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian Country.

The president, speaking to reporters Thursday before leaving for Arizona, said an apology for the U.S. government’s role in the abuse and neglect of Indigenous children was “something that should have been done a long time ago.” For decades, federal boarding schools were used to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House.

The moment will also give Biden an opportunity to tout his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that has historically favored Democrats, in a state he won by just 10,000 votes in 2020.

The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be just as tight, with both campaigns doing everything they can to boost turnout among their core supporters.

“The race is now a turnout grab,” said Mike O’Neill, a nonpartisan pollster in Arizona. “Trend lines throughout have been remarkably consistent. The question is which candidate can carry voters in a race that looks set to be decided by a narrow margin.”

Harris and other Democrats have rarely used Biden on the campaign trail since he ended his re-election campaign in July.

But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal to Native American voters, a group that lags behind others in turnout.

Voter turnout on some Arizona tribal lands surged in 2020 as Biden defeated Trump to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.

Biden is making the visit in his official capacity, and a formal apology – something the tribes have long sought – seems certain to get the attention of Native Americans across the country.

At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s brutal residential school system over 150 years ending in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that demanded an apology from the U.S. government.

At least 18,000 children, some as young as four years old, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that sought to assimilate them.

“President Biden deserves credit for finally turning his attention to this issue and other issues affecting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a residential school survivor and enlisted member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I think this will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope that momentum continues.”

She added that whoever becomes the next president must take concrete action and begin to repair the harm done to tribes by residential schools.

Democrats have stepped up their outreach to Native American communities.

Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, met this month with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada. And Clinton, who replaced Harris, met last week in North Carolina with the chairman of the Lumbee tribe.

The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure advertising campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio advertising.

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is in a competitive race with Republican Carey Lake for an open Arizona Senate seat, has visited all 22 of Arizona’s federally recognized tribes.

Harris began a recent campaign rally in Chandler, near where the Gila River Reservation is located, by addressing a tribal leader.

She also reminded the crowd that she was the first vice president to visit the reservation. She and her husband, Doug Emhoff, visited the community last year.

“I firmly believe that the relationship between tribal nations and the United States is sacred … and that we must respect tribal sovereignty, trust treaty obligations and guarantee tribal self-determination,” Harris said.

The White House says Biden and Harris have accumulated significant experience working with Native Americans over the past four years.

He declared the sacred Mount Awi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada, and Baaj Nwaawjo Ita Kukweni, the ancestral footprints in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, as national monuments and restored the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

In addition, the administration has directed nearly $46 billion in federal spending to tribal nations. The money helped bring electricity to a reservation that had never had electricity, expand access to high-speed Internet, improve drainage, build roads and much more.

Biden has selected former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as his Interior secretary, becoming the first Native American nominated to a Cabinet position. Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.

She in turn ordered a comprehensive review in June 2021 of the problematic legacy of the federal government’s residential school policies, prompting Biden to issue a formal apology.

“He made commitments to Indian country and fulfilled every one of those commitments,” Haaland said.

Tom Reilly, co-director of the Center for Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said the Harris and Trump campaigns and their allies have made significant microtargeting efforts in Arizona.

Harris, Reilly noted, is also focused on erasing Trump’s advantage among Mormon voters in the state, a group that has historically favored Republicans. Trump, meanwhile, is focusing on young men as the campaign tries to narrow Democrats’ lead with younger voters.

“They’re doing everything they can to see if they can get a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of the groups that Harris hopes will go beyond expectations and help make a difference.”