Haaland Extends Her Work Bringing Justice for Native Families Impacted By Federal Indian Boarding Schools

Albuquerque, N.M. – On National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools, Deb Haaland the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Mexico issued the following statement, and extended her commitment to bring justice for Native families if she’s elected Governor:

“Through Federal Indian Boarding School policies, the United States government attacked our cultures, tore apart families, and left a lasting impact on Indigenous communities, including mine. My grandparents were both stolen as children from their homes and put into federal Indian boarding schools. They were isolated from their families, were denied their identities, had their Native language and cultures stolen from them, and endured trauma. Every Native person I know has a similar story. 

“I have fought tirelessly throughout my career to repair the foundation that the federal government stole from us – with historic investments in Native Language preservation, uplifting our culture, and increasing economic opportunity. President Biden’s apology to Indian Country for the U.S. government’s role in creating and perpetuating the federal Indian boarding school system was a culmination of those efforts.

“As Governor, I will continue to work to heal the trauma that Native communities have endured, including justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. I will build on the New Mexico Department of Justice’s MMIP program to solve missing persons cases, provide justice for our families, and ensure Native communities have access to trauma informed and culturally relevant resources.” 

As one of the first Native American women to be elected to Congress and the first Native American to serve as a presidential Cabinet Secretary, Haaland has been a stalwart advocate for Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and economic opportunity.

As Secretary of the Interior, Haaland worked to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and launched the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative to ensure that our federal government confronted the painful history and lasting impacts of its Indian boarding school policies. As part of that effort, she worked with the Indian Health Service to provide counseling and mental health services as part of her Road to Healing tour, launched the ten-year plan to preserve Native Languages, and entered into more than 400 co-stewardship agreements so Tribes had a say in the management of their ancestral homelands that the federal government worked to take away.