Biden creates a new national monument marking the legacy of Indian boarding schools

By NPR Washington Desk

Published December 9, 2024 at 7:11 AM AKST

President Biden is presented with a blanket by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (R) and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (L) at the Tribal Nations Summit on Dec, 9, 2024.

Updated December 09, 2024 at 16:25 PM ET

President Biden on Monday announced a new national monument to tell the story of the more than 400 boarding schools where tens of thousands of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children were sent for assimilation.

Biden said the schools were "designed to sever ties between children and their tribal families, their language and culture."

Biden formally apologized for the Indian boarding schools in October, calling it one of the "most horrific chapters in American history." He announced the new monument during the White House Tribal Nations Summit.

"I don't want people forgetting 10, 20, 30, 50 years and pretend it didn't happen," Biden said.

The monument will be located in Carlisle, Pa., on what was the campus of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School — part of the U.S. Army's Carlisle Barracks — and will be managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Army.