Become an Advocate for the Bill
Want to support the U.S. Truth and Healing Commission Bill? Whether you are an individual or represent a Tribe, organization, or group, you can find resources in our toolkit that allow you to advocate for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S. 1723/H.R. 7227).
On September 27, 2023, NABS's hosted a virtual conversation on the U.S. Truth and Healing Commission Bill with special guests Rep. Sharice Davids and cast and crew from Reservation Dogs.Â
On May 12, 2022, the House Natural Resource Subcommittee held a hearing on the U.S. Truth & Healing Commission Bill where NABS leaders and boarding school survivors testified.
On July 24th, 2024, U.S. Senators Schatz (D-HI), Murkowski (R-AK), Warren (D-MA), Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Markey (D-MA) speak to the importance of passing S.1723: The Truth & Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. Video credit: C-Span.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have a right to know the truth. Over the course of a century, hundreds of thousands of Native children were taken or coerced away from their families and Tribes and forced to attend government-sanctioned Indian boarding schools. These schools were tools of assimilation and cultural genocide, resulting in the loss of language and culture and the permanent separation of children from their families.
To date, there has never been an accounting of:
- the number of children forced to attend these schools;
- the number of children who were abused, died, or went missing while at these schools; and
- the long-term impacts on the children and the families of children forced to attend Indian boarding schools.
We have a limited amount of time to hear directly from survivors and record their stories. A Congressional Commission is needed to locate and analyze the records from the 523 known Indian boarding schools that operated in the United States. A federal commission would also bring together boarding school survivors with a broad cross-section of tribal representatives and experts in education, health, and children and families to fully express and understand the impacts of this federal policy of Indian child removal.
NABS was formed in 2012, in part to advocate for the establishment of a federal commission on U.S. Indian Boarding Schools, similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Canada’s Residential Schools. For years, NABS has been part of a grassroots movement of Native academics, researchers, tribal leaders, and boarding school survivors and descendants who are seeking truth, justice, and healing. The work to introduce a federal commission has been underway for almost a decade.
The announcement by U.S. Interior Secretary Debra Haaland of the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative is an important first step in the federal government taking accountability for revealing the truth, but we believe a federal commission is the most comprehensive approach to developing a complete picture of the ongoing impact Indian boarding schools have had on generations of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people. This is critical to providing a path toward healing for individuals, families and Tribal communities that have endured the devastating consequences of Indian boarding school policies.
International Organizations:
- International Indian Treaty Council:Â Resolution Calling For the U.S. to Investigate impacts of U.S. Boarding School Policies
National Organizations
- National Congress of American Indians:Â Support for a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools
- American Bar Association: Resolution in support of the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and to Enact the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy Act
- National Indian Health Board:Â Boarding School Healing Resolution
- Association on American Indian Affairs:Â Pass S.2907 - Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Native Justice Coalition:Â Statement of Support for The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- National Indian Education Association:Â Statement of Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- National Lacrosse League:Â NLL Statement in Support of Truth & Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- American Academy of Pediatrics:Â Endorsement of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States Act
Regional Organizations
- Washington Mental Health Counselors Association (WMHCA):Â Resolution endorsing the US Truth & Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools
- Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians:Â
- California Nations Indian Gaming Association:Â Support a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council Inc.:Â Support a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- Great Lakes Intertribal Council:Â Support for the Enactment by the United States Congress of a Bill to Create a Commission on American Indian Boarding School Policy
- Indian Health Council:Â Support for a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada Inc.:Â Support for the Establishment of a National Commission to Investigate and Report to the United States Congress on US boarding school policies
- Montana and Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council:Â Support a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association Inc.:Â Support a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- State of Minnesota Indian Affairs Council:Â Support for a Congressional Hearing to investigate and report to the U.S. Congress on the impacts of US Boarding School Policies
- United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc.:Â Support for a National Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF):Â Supporting the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition and the Establishment of a National Commission on American Indian Boarding School Policy
- Washington Education Association:Â Support of the Establishment of a National Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools
Tribes
- Blackfeet Nation:Â Support Congressional Efforts to Pass legislation approving the Truth and Healing Commission on US Indian Boarding School Policy
- Cahuilla Band of Indians:Â Support the Creation of a Commission on US Indian Boarding School Policy
- Coeur d'Alene Tribe:Â Statement of Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Bolstering Initiatives
- Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council Inc.:Â Resolution in Support of a Commission on American Indian Boarding School Policy
- Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada Inc.:Â Letter of Support for the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- Montana and Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council:Â A Resolution for Congress to Create a Commission to Study and Receive Testimony Concerning the Implementation of the American Indian Boarding School Policy and Its Effects
- Oneida Nation:Â Statement of Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians: Support for an investigation and report on US Indian Boarding School Policy
- San Manuel Band of Mission Indians:Â Support for an investigation and report on US Indian Boarding School Policy
- Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association Inc.:Â Resolution of Support to Create a Commission on American Indian Boarding School Policy
- Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska:Â Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Bolstering Initiatives
- Tulalip Tribes of Washington:Â Statement and Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Associated Efforts
- Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians:Â Statement and Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Bolstering Efforts
- Ute Mountain Ute Tribe:Â Support for a Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy
- Apache Tribe of Oklahoma:Â Resolution in support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School PoliciesÂ
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe:Â Resolution to support legislation to create the Truth and Healing Commission on Federal Indian Boarding Schools Polices Act in the U.S.Â
- Comanche Nation:Â Resolution to Support the Legislation on Federal Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians:Â Resolution to Support the Legislation to Create the Truth and Healing Commission on Federal Indian Boarding School Policies Act in the US
- Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas:Â Statement and Support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Bolstering InitiativesÂ
- Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Intertribal Land Use Committee:Â Resolution to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act and Bolstering InitiativesÂ
- Seminole Tribe of Florida:Â Letter in support of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Policies Act
- Tohono O'odham: Resolution supporting and urging the Pas Tohono O'odham: sage of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Policies Act
Churches
- Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology: Statement Supporting the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States
- Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities (INIC):Â A Statement from the Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities regarding Indigenous Boarding Schools, September 2021Â
- Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States:Â Endorsement of US Truth & Healing Commission Bill
- The Boulder, Intermountain, New York, and Southeastern Yearly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends:Â Endorsement of US Truth & Healing Commission Bill
- Native American International Caucus of the United Methodist Church:Â Letter in Support of Establishing a US Truth & Healing Commission on US Indian Boarding School Policies
- United Church of Christ:Â Statement Supporting the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United StatesÂ
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA):Â Endorsement of US Truth & Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Bill
- Southern Baptist Church:Â On Religious Liberty, Forced Conversion, and the Federal Indian Boarding School Investigative Report
- Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration:Â Letter of support for the legislation to Establish the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States
- Episcopal Church:Â Petition in Support of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Friends Committee on National Legislation:Â Legislative Ask to Support the Creation of a Truth and Healing Commission on the Indian Boarding School Era
- Faith Action Network (Washington):Â Letter in Support of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Boulder Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker):Â Letter is in Support of H.R. 5444 Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Franciscan Action Network: Statement Supporting the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States
- Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis:Â Endorsement of a US Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies
- The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society:Â Statement Supporting the Establishment of a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United StatesÂ
- Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande -Â Letter of support
- The Presbytery of Western New York -Â Resolution to Support the Legislation to Create the Truth and Healing Commission
- Native American Church of North America - Statement and support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian boarding schools
Tribal Colleges
Cities
- Alaska Federation of Natives
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Indian Catholic Schools Network (AICSN)
- American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC)
- Americans for Indian Opportunity
- Association on American Indian Affairs
- Boulder Meeting of Friends
- Coalition of Natives and Allies
- Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
- Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
- Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
- Dr. Alan Ray, Citizen of Cherokee Nation (does not represent the Nation; endorses only for himself)
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
- The Episcopal Church
- Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande
- Faith Action Network
- First Alaskans Institute
- Fort Belknap Indian Community
- Franciscan Action Network
- Friends Committee on National Legislation
- Inter Tribal Association of Arizona (ITAA)
- Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities (INIC)
- Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology
- Lower Sioux Indian Community
- Margo Gray, Chairwoman, United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas
- MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
- Montana Women Vote
- National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
- National Coalition of Native Language Schools and Programs
- National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
- National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA)
- National Indian Education Association (NIEA)
- National Indigenous Women's Resource Center (NIWRC)
- National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS)
- National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH)
- Native Organizers Alliance
- NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)
- Oneida Nation
- Red Cloud Indian School
- Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin, President, United Lutheran Seminary
- Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council
- Saokio Heritage
- Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB)
- Seven Religious Congregations and Denominations (the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, the Episcopal Church, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Franciscan Action Network, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Office
of Race Relations of the Christian Reformed Church of North America, and the General Board of Church and Society of the
United Methodist Church) - St. Joseph Mission School
- The Boulder, Intermountain, New York, and Southeastern Yearly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends
- The Episcopal Church
- The Leadership Conference of Women Religious
- The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
- Transvisible Montana
- Tulalip Tribes
- United American Indian Involvement, Inc.
- United Tribes of Oklahoma Kansas and Texas
- United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF)
- Upstander Project
- Shawnee Tribe
- Indian boarding school bill sees renewed momentum on Capitol Hill (Indianz)
- Schatz, Murkowski Announce Legislation To Establish A Commission On Federal Indian Boarding School Policies Heading To Senate Floor For Consideration (SCIA)
- Native Boarding School Report Tells the Truth but Doesn't Go Far Enough (FCNL)
- Truth and Healing Commission Bill Heads to the Senate Floor (Native News Online)
- Boarding schools investigation a step closer as bills progress(ICT News)
Learn more about the history of Indian boarding schools:Â Healing Voices Volume 1: A Primer on American Indian and Alaska Native Boarding Schools in the U.S.