NCUIH Statement on Indigenous Residential and Boarding Schools

Washington, D.C. (June 25, 2021) – In Canada this past May, the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at Kamloops Indian Residential School brought past Indigenous traumas into the international spotlight. Yesterday, over 700 more unmarked graves were found on the grounds of the former Marieval Indian Residential School in Canada.

Boarding schools and residential schools are a tragic thread in history that the United States and Canada share: The United States Government Indian Boarding School Policy authorized the forced removal of hundreds of thousands of Native children, as young as 5 years old, relocating them from their homes in Tribal communities to one of the 367 Indian Boarding Schools across 30 States. Between 1869 and the 1960s, the United States federal government stole Native children from their families to destroy their indigenous identities, beliefs, and traditional languages to assimilate them into White American culture through federally funded Christian-run schools.

Today, National Council of Urban Indian Health Chief Executive Officer Francys Crevier (Algonquin) released the following statement in response to these recent discoveries:

“I am devastated to hear the discovery of mass graves of our children, but tragically, I am not surprised. The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) exists because of the historic oppression like this that forced relocation of our people by the United States (and Canadian) governments, which included ripping our children from their families and placing them in federally funded boarding schools in their attempt to “kill the Indian, save the man.” Indian Country’s social determinants of health demonstrate the connection to the historical trauma inflicted by these governments that caused tremendous health consequences for our people – most recently with the COVID-19 pandemic taking the lives of many of our relatives. At NCUIH, we are charged with holding the US government to its trust and treaty responsibility of providing health care for all Native people.

The atrocities Native children experienced during the boarding school era are marked by years of pain as Indigenous communities were forced to suffer in silence. These long-standing intergenerational trauma cycles are, unfortunately, nothing new to Native people.  Federal policies in the United States and Canada attempted to destroy Native identity, culture, and language and continue to be a cause of suffering in our communities. For centuries of historic trauma, this process has been a long and challenging journey for our relatives.

With that, we applaud Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American cabinet holder, for beginning the conversation to hold the United States government that created these boarding schools accountable through the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. The Department of the Interior will identify boarding school sites, locations of known and possible student burial sites located at or near school facilities and identify the children and their tribal affiliations to bring them home to their families.

As the effort continues to bring these children home, we are reminded of the resilience of Native people and ask our relatives to lean on each other as more information from the boarding school era is revealed to the public. While Natives have been well aware of the government’s violation of basic human rights and genocide of our people, it is important for the United States and Canada to finally take responsibility for these horrific actions.

At NCUIH, we are charged with holding the US government to its trust and treaty responsibility of providing health care for all Native people. Our work will continue as we fight to make up for centuries of oppression and needless deaths of our people – including our own children. The United States government can begin to rectify their actions by finally honoring its trust and treaty responsibilities to our people.”

For more information on the history of Native American Boarding Schools, please visit The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition website.

Recommended Readings: 

Pipestone My Life in an Indian Boarding School

Boarding School Seasons American Indian Families, 1900-1940

The Middle Five: Indian Schoolboys of the Omaha Tribe

Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of Northern Plains American Indian Boarding School Survivors

They Called Me Uncivilized: The Memoir of an Everyday Lakota Man from Wounded Knee

A Voice in Her Tribe: A Navajo Woman’s Own Story

Boarding School Blues: Revisiting American Indian Educational Experiences

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The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) is the national non-profit organization devoted to the support and development of quality, accessible, and culturally-competent health and public health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) living in urban areas. NCUIH is the only national representative of the 41 Title V Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) under the Indian Health Service (IHS) in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA). NCUIH strives to improve the health of the over 70% of the AI/AN population that lives in urban areas, supported by quality, accessible health care centers.

STATEMENT: NCUIH Statement Supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Sara Williams, swilliams@NCUIH.org

Stop Asian Hate

Washington, D.C. (March 19, 2021) –  Today, National Council of Urban Indian Health Chief Executive Officer Francys Crevier (Algonquin) released the following statement:

“This week, we once again bore witness to violence led by hate. In a state that has a long history of discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), we stand in solidarity with our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) relatives who have been subjected to centuries of violence and oppression. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of all eight victims.

According to the Stop AAPI Hate, there have been 3,795 reported incidents of hate against the AAPI community from March 19, 2020, to February 28, 2021. These incidents range from verbal harassment to civil rights violations. The primary site of reported discrimination is at a place of business. These alarming trends have been on the rise since the start of the pandemic.

This violent act, performed on the stolen land of the Muscogee Creek and the Cherokee peoples in the Atlanta metro areas, reminds us of the devastating ruling in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, where the rights of the Cherokee people were stripped and they were displaced from their land.

We condemn discrimination and violence in all forms and we ask the U.S. government to commit to eliminating the structures of racism that embolden these violent acts.”

Recommended Resources:

Stop AAPI Hate National Report

Resources for Combating Anti-Asian Racism

Anti-Racism Resources for the AAPI Community

Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit

STATEMENT: Capitol Hill Attack

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Sara Williams, swilliams@NCUIH.org

“We will continue to demand justice…”

 

Washington, D.C. (January 13, 2021) –  Today, the National Council of Urban Indian Health Chief Executive Officer Francys Crevier (Algonquin) released the following statement:

“Last week, we bore witness to a terror at the United States Capitol, an institution which has long carried the original transgressions of this country dating back to 1492. The Capitol is located on the stolen land of the Nacotchtank, Piscataway, and Pamunkey peoples and was built through the stolen labor of our Black brothers and sisters.

Despite the dark history of its creation, this preventable attack was a disgrace to the democratic institution and to the people of color who made its existence possible.

In a nation where the legacy of systemic racism lives on through statues and artwork within these buildings, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) have shown resiliency and stood up against injustice.

For this, our communities have too often been harshly punished and senselessly murdered. The legacy of systemic racism has directly affected the health and well-being of BIPOC communities as recently evidenced by the two very different responses from law enforcement towards BIPOC individuals peacefully demanding justice and equality, versus the white domestic terrorists who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. To heal this country, the U.S. must invest in true equality, justice, health, and education reform.

We condemn discrimination in all forms and we ask the U.S. government to commit to eliminating the structures of racism that embolden these terrorists: Take down the artwork celebrating the genocide of our people in the Capitol Rotunda and remove the statues of slave-owning confederates. We can only begin to heal as a nation once we take down the monuments that pay tribute to the greatest sins of this country within the home for our democracy.

Thank you to those who put their lives on the line to protect us. You are true warriors. We will continue to demand justice from a system designed to oppress our people.

“We are still here, and we are resilient.”

STATEMENT: Capitol Hill Attack

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Sara Williams, swilliams@NCUIH.org

“We will continue to demand justice…”

 

Washington, D.C. (January 13, 2021) –  Today, the National Council of Urban Indian Health Chief Executive Officer Francys Crevier (Algonquin) released the following statement:

“Last week, we bore witness to a terror at the United States Capitol, an institution which has long carried the original transgressions of this country dating back to 1492. The Capitol is located on the stolen land of the Nacotchtank, Piscataway, and Pamunkey peoples and was built through the stolen labor of our Black brothers and sisters.

Despite the dark history of its creation, this preventable attack was a disgrace to the democratic institution and to the people of color who made its existence possible.

In a nation where the legacy of systemic racism lives on through statues and artwork within these buildings, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) have shown resiliency and stood up against injustice.

For this, our communities have too often been harshly punished and senselessly murdered. The legacy of systemic racism has directly affected the health and well-being of BIPOC communities as recently evidenced by the two very different responses from law enforcement towards BIPOC individuals peacefully demanding justice and equality, versus the white domestic terrorists who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. To heal this country, the U.S. must invest in true equality, justice, health, and education reform.

We condemn discrimination in all forms and we ask the U.S. government to commit to eliminating the structures of racism that embolden these terrorists: Take down the artwork celebrating the genocide of our people in the Capitol Rotunda and remove the statues of slave-owning confederates. We can only begin to heal as a nation once we take down the monuments that pay tribute to the greatest sins of this country within the home for our democracy.

Thank you to those who put their lives on the line to protect us. You are true warriors. We will continue to demand justice from a system designed to oppress our people.

“We are still here, and we are resilient.”

NCUIH Statement on President-elect Biden’s Nomination of Urban Indian Health Champion Haaland

President-elect Joe Biden nominated New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. If confirmed, she would be the first Native person to hold a Cabinet-level position and the first to lead Interior. In addition to public lands, waterways, wildlife, national parks, and natural resources that fall under the purview of Interior, the agency has wielded untold influence over the nation’s federal policy towards tribes and Native people in general throughout its history. As Congresswoman for New Mexico’s Second District and Co-Chair of the Native American Caucus, Congresswoman Haaland been championed priorities for Urban Indian health, including First Nations Community HealthSource in Albuquerque.

“NCUIH is so pleased to learn that Representative Haaland will be tapped to lead the Department of the Interior and will be the first Native in a Cabinet-level position,” said Francys Crevier, Algonquin, CEO of the National Council of Urban Indian Health. “As vice chair of the House Committee for Natural Resources, she has been exceptionally supportive of legislation that upholds tribal sovereignty and improves the quality of life for all Native people, including those residing in urban areas. The selection of a Native woman to oversee this agency holds special significance for us because of the sordid history of federal government policies to dispossess indigenous people of their land and culture with an intent to ‘kill the Indian, save the man.’ Today, Urban Indians participate in many programs under the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Indian Education, including social services and adult care assistance. We are confident that Representative Haaland will bring the same level of competence and passion to her role as Secretary and congratulate her for this well-deserved nomination.”

STATEMENT: NCUIH Congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris

First Presidential platform to explicitly include Urban Indians in Tribal Nations agenda

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Meredith Raimondi, 202-932-6615, mraimondi@ncuih.org

Washington, D.C. (November 9, 2020) –  Today, the National Council of Urban Indian Health Chief Executive Officer Francys Crevier (Algonquin) released the following statement:

“The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on their groundbreaking 2020 U.S. Presidential Election win. A record number of Native voters showed up in key states such as Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin to make a lasting impact on this historical election. This continued confirmation of the power behind the Native Vote reaffirms American Indians and Alaska Native (AI/AN) issues should be a priority for lawmakers in the 117th Congress. We are also thankful to our partners at the Coulter Foundation and the National Urban Indian Family Coalition for providing funding to NCUIH which allowed us to bring funds into those urban Indian communities to embolden the Native vote.

The Biden-Harris team is the first U.S. Presidential platform to include Urban Indian Organizations in their Tribal Nations agenda, and we look forward to partnering with the incoming administration in the development of quality, accessible, and culturally-competent health services for AI/ANs living in urban settings.”

Biden-Harris Plan for Tribal Nations

NCUIH Statement Condemning Racist Vandalism at Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Meredith Raimondi, 202-932-6615, mraimondi@ncuih.org

WASHINGTON, DC (July 8, 2020) – Today, the National Council of Urban Indian Health released the following statement:

The Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley in San Jose, California was a target of a recent racist vandal. As the national representative of 41 Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs), including this one, we vehemently admonish this horrifying attack against our community.

We stand in solidarity with our Black relatives whose voices are finally beginning to be heard. This recent attack highlights the centuries of racism against people of color. Unfortunately, the structures which created this country left a legacy of systemic racism that has directly affected our communities. As Natives, we know we are all connected and that racism knows no bounds.

The Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley has been a pillar of support for the community from day 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic and was among one of the first counties in the United States to shelter-in-place. During this crisis, their staff continued to come to work every day despite the many fears and unknowns that come with this virus. This clinic will not be undeterred by this cowardly attack on their property.

We stand with the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley. We are resilient and we are still here because we can stand together.

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The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) is the national non-profit organization devoted to the support and development of quality, accessible, and culturally-competent health and public health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) living in urban areas. NCUIH is the only national representative of the 41 Title V Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs) under the Indian Health Service (IHS) in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA). NCUIH strives to improve the health of the over 70% of the AI/AN population that lives in urban areas, supported by quality, accessible health care centers.