Some native survivors of the federal Indian boarding school system got a chance to share their stories on Sunday as part of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland‘s yearlong cross-country tour, “Road to Healing.” “I don’t want my kids to feel that way,” said a survivor. He was just one of a handful of survivors who spoke out on Sunday, revisiting the pain that was felt while attending the federal Indian Boarding School System. “He would come out with his belt, pick up a kid off the bed and wack him for crying,” said a survivor. Hundreds of thousands of Native children and teens nationwide were forced to leave their families and attend these schools up until the 1970s, with each school’s mission being to erase the Native identity of the children.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman appeared before the United Nations, urging the United States to protect sacred Indigenous sites, including Oak Flat, from impending destruction. “I request the United Nations Permanent Forum call on all (member) States to affirmatively protect Indigenous Peoples’ sacred sites under the mandate of culture, environment, health, and human rights,” said Chairman Terry Rambler. Apache Stronghold, a group composed of San Carlos Apache members and others, wants to halt the land swap while the case plays out in court. The panel of 11 judges on the appeals court is expected to issue a decision in the next few months.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
