CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION House Resolution No. 60Introduced by Assembly Member RamosJuly 05, 2021 Relative to the federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTHR 60, as introduced, Ramos. Digest KeyBill TextWHEREAS, The recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves by Canadas Tkemlps te Secwpemc First Nation at the Kamloops Indian Residential School should prompt Americans to reflect on past federal policies to culturally assimilate Indigenous peoples in the United States; andWHEREAS, Beginning with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819 and lasting through the 1960s, the United States enacted laws and implemented policies establishing and supporting Indian boarding schools across the nation; andWHEREAS, The purpose of the Indian boarding schools was to culturally assimilate Indigenous children by forcibly relocating them away from their families and communities to distant residential facilities where their cultural identities, languages, and beliefs were forcibly suppressed; andWHEREAS, Over the course of this program, the thousands of Indigenous children who were forced to leave their homes and attend these boarding schools were subjected to traumatic injury and abuse, and some of them perished and are buried in unmarked graves; and WHEREAS, The horrific legacy of these boarding schools remains and manifests itself in Indigenous communities through intergenerational trauma and cycles of violence, abuse, and premature deaths; and WHEREAS, The assimilationist policies represented by the boarding schools are contrary to the current doctrine of trust responsibility, under which the federal government is charged with the promotion of tribal self-governance and cultural integrity; andWHEREAS, The United States Department of the Interior has instituted the Indian Boarding School Initiative to address the intergenerational impact of Indian boarding schools to shed light on the traumas caused by those schools and their continuing impact on Indigenous communities today; andWHEREAS, The United States Department of the Interior will undertake an investigation of the loss of human life and other lasting consequences of the Indian boarding schools, and as part of that investigation the department will identify boarding school facilities and sites, the location of known and possible student burial sites located at or near school facilities, and the identities and tribal affiliations of the children who were buried at these locations; andWHEREAS, The work of the initiative will include the identification and collection of records and information related to the United States Department of the Interiors oversight of the Indian boarding school program from 1819 to 1969, inclusive, formal consultations with Tribal Nations, Alaska Native corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to clarify the processes and procedures for protecting identified burial sites and associated information, and submission of a final written report to the United States Secretary of the Interior by April 1, 2022; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly expresses its profound sympathy for the generations of Indigenous children who suffered horrendous trauma and abuse at Indian boarding schools due to the cruel and misguided federal policy of enforced assimilation; and be it further Resolved, That the Assembly expresses its support for the implementation of the Indian Boarding School Initiative by the United States Department of the Interior to finally address the legacy of these boarding schools and to provide some measure of honor and respect for the Indigenous persons who suffered there; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION House Resolution No. 60Introduced by Assembly Member RamosJuly 05, 2021 Relative to the federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTHR 60, as introduced, Ramos. Digest Key
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20212022 REGULAR SESSION
House Resolution
No. 60
Introduced by Assembly Member RamosJuly 05, 2021
Introduced by Assembly Member Ramos
July 05, 2021
Relative to the federal Indian Boarding School Initiative.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HR 60, as introduced, Ramos.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, The recent discovery of 215 unmarked graves by Canadas Tkemlps te Secwpemc First Nation at the Kamloops Indian Residential School should prompt Americans to reflect on past federal policies to culturally assimilate Indigenous peoples in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Beginning with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819 and lasting through the 1960s, the United States enacted laws and implemented policies establishing and supporting Indian boarding schools across the nation; and
WHEREAS, The purpose of the Indian boarding schools was to culturally assimilate Indigenous children by forcibly relocating them away from their families and communities to distant residential facilities where their cultural identities, languages, and beliefs were forcibly suppressed; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of this program, the thousands of Indigenous children who were forced to leave their homes and attend these boarding schools were subjected to traumatic injury and abuse, and some of them perished and are buried in unmarked graves; and
WHEREAS, The horrific legacy of these boarding schools remains and manifests itself in Indigenous communities through intergenerational trauma and cycles of violence, abuse, and premature deaths; and
WHEREAS, The assimilationist policies represented by the boarding schools are contrary to the current doctrine of trust responsibility, under which the federal government is charged with the promotion of tribal self-governance and cultural integrity; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of the Interior has instituted the Indian Boarding School Initiative to address the intergenerational impact of Indian boarding schools to shed light on the traumas caused by those schools and their continuing impact on Indigenous communities today; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of the Interior will undertake an investigation of the loss of human life and other lasting consequences of the Indian boarding schools, and as part of that investigation the department will identify boarding school facilities and sites, the location of known and possible student burial sites located at or near school facilities, and the identities and tribal affiliations of the children who were buried at these locations; and
WHEREAS, The work of the initiative will include the identification and collection of records and information related to the United States Department of the Interiors oversight of the Indian boarding school program from 1819 to 1969, inclusive, formal consultations with Tribal Nations, Alaska Native corporations, and Native Hawaiian organizations to clarify the processes and procedures for protecting identified burial sites and associated information, and submission of a final written report to the United States Secretary of the Interior by April 1, 2022; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assembly expresses its profound sympathy for the generations of Indigenous children who suffered horrendous trauma and abuse at Indian boarding schools due to the cruel and misguided federal policy of enforced assimilation; and be it further
Resolved, That the Assembly expresses its support for the implementation of the Indian Boarding School Initiative by the United States Department of the Interior to finally address the legacy of these boarding schools and to provide some measure of honor and respect for the Indigenous persons who suffered there; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.