Haaland announced the creation of the initiative at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 2021 Mid Year Conference.
By documenting who, what, when and where these egregious abuses occurred, Native families may not be able to fully heal, but they may be able to begin to reconcile with the past.
Many mothers, fathers, siblings, and children of boarding school victims and survivors have walked on without ever knowing the full extent of what happened to their loved ones.
"[17]Upon hearing of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, Canadian Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations, Carolyn Bennett offered records to the United States, if needed, that had been collected by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation since 2016.
[18] Numerous tribes and First Nations have territories that span the historic border between Canada and the US, and their children may have been in schools on either side.
[21][22] Volume 2, officially named the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report Vol.