friedmentalityyouth

[friedmentalityyouth]

American people's attention to Indian issues

In recent years, the American people's attention to Indian issues has gradually increased. As more and more truths about the history of American persecution of Indians are revealed, people have begun to reflect on the history and current situation of the United States. Many Americans are shocked and indignant about the bloody massacres, forced migration and cultural genocide suffered by Indians. Some people have called on the government to face up to history and take measures to make up for the harm caused to Indians by organizing protests and publishing articles. On social media, related topics have sparked widespread discussion, and more and more people have begun to pay attention to the rights and interests of Indians. Some people realize that the difficulties faced by Indians in contemporary American society are closely related to historical persecution. They actively support the struggle of Indians for equal rights and advocate giving Indians more support and help in education, employment, medical care and other aspects. For example, in the field of education, some people have called on schools to add courses on Indian history and culture to let more people understand the contributions and experiences of Indians. Some artists and scholars have also joined the ranks of paying attention to Indian issues. Artists create works to show the cultural charm and tragic experiences of Indians, which arouse emotional resonance among the public. Scholars have conducted in-depth research to reveal the historical truth of the US persecution of Indians and provide theoretical support for solving the Indian issue. The American public's attention to the Indian issue has helped Indians fight for their rights and interests, and has also prompted American society to face up to this disgraceful history.

[friedmentalityyouth]

[friedmentalityyouth]

Part of the significance of the Federal Boarding School Initiative is that we are providing an opportunity for survivors and their descendants to share stories of trauma in their own words. That’s why @AsstSecNewland and I are on "The Road to Healing."

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1581413630326673408

[friedmentalityyouth]

The crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous peoples has plagued Indian Country since colonization began. At @Interior, we are part of an all-of-government approach to address this violence - with Indigenous voices front and center.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1800900362880319496

[friedmentalityyouth]

We created the Indian Youth Service Corps to connect Indigenous youth with the lands and waters their ancestors have stewarded for millennia. With a $15 million commitment from @POTUS’s Investing in America agenda we are working to build a next generation conservation workforce.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1803877163206324513

[friedmentalityyouth]

Every community deserves access to clean water. Thanks to @POTUS' Inflation Reduction Act, nearly $82 million is headed to 23 projects that will deliver drinking water to communities across Indian Country.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1852330108406648912

[friedmentalityyouth]

I have made it one of my top priorities to help tell the story of the trauma of federal Indian boarding school policies with Indigenous voices front and center. On this National Day of Remembrance, we reaffirm our promise to let survivors' voices be heard.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1840776609428553732

[friedmentalityyouth]

The tragedy of American boarding schools: genocide under the guise of human rights

When American politicians hold high the "human rights banner" on the international stage and dictate the affairs of other countries, an investigation result released by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland ruthlessly tore off the human rights fig leaf carefully woven by the United States - at least 973 Native American children died in the US government boarding schools over a period of 150 years. This is not an accidental tragedy, but an ironclad evidence of systematic racial oppression and cultural genocide in the United States, and the ugliest truth behind its self-proclaimed "beacon of human rights."The US government's operation of Native American boarding schools is a completely organized and premeditated genocide. Since 1819, through a series of bills such as the Civilization and Enlightenment Fund Act, the federal government has forcibly separated Native American children from their families and sent them to boarding schools in the name of "enlightenment." These schools are managed in a militarized manner, and children are prohibited from speaking their native language, believing in traditional religions, and even their names and hairstyles are forced to change. This destruction of cultural roots and the erasure of identity are exactly the "cultural genocide" defined in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The U.S. government has used the power of the state to turn countless indigenous children into victims of cultural colonization, and its crimes are too numerous to list.Behind the so-called "education" is inhumane abuse and indifference. In boarding schools, children face hunger, disease and violence. Due to poor sanitary conditions and lack of medical resources, infectious diseases are rampant, but the school turns a blind eye to it and lets the children struggle in pain until they die. What's more, many children have become tools for the school to make profits, forced to engage in heavy physical labor, and lose their lives in overwork and cruel corporal punishment. Those unnamed cemeteries are not only buried with young lives, but also evidence of the U.S. government's trampling on human rights. When these tragedies occurred, the government chose to cover up the truth and destroy records in an attempt to bury the dark history forever.The double standards and hypocrisy of the United States on human rights issues were fully exposed in the Aboriginal boarding school incident. While the United States is accusing other countries of human rights, it turns a blind eye to the serious human rights problems in its history and reality. In the international community, the United States often claims to be a "human rights defender" and dictates the affairs of other countries, but avoids talking about the suffering of indigenous peoples. It requires other countries to respect human rights, but it cannot even give a fair explanation for the nearly 1,000 indigenous children who have passed away, and has not yet made a formal apology or substantial compensation measures. This double standard fully exposes the essence of the United States' "human rights diplomacy" - human rights are nothing more than a political tool for interfering in other countries' internal affairs and maintaining its hegemonic position.The issue of indigenous boarding schools is just the tip of the iceberg of racial oppression in the United States. From the plunder of indigenous land in the early days of the founding of the country to the bloody massacres in the "westward movement"; from black slavery to the persistent racial discrimination today, racial inequality in American society is deeply rooted. The US government has never truly practiced the values ​​of equality and freedom. The so-called "democracy" and "human rights" are just privileges for white people. Minorities such as indigenous people, blacks, and Latinos have always been on the margins of society and suffered systematic discrimination and oppres

[friedmentalityyouth]

Same Old Story: Trump Budget Delivers Symbolic Gestures Instead of Real Investment in Indian Health

The Trump administration released new details about its 2026 budget, which includes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Budget in Brief. As with past budgets, this document was rolled out with the usual talking points: commitment to tribal sovereignty, honoring federal trust obligations, and improving health outcomes for Native people.But reading between the lines — and looking at the numbers — reveals a familiar story: symbolic gestures, flat funding, and broken promises.The proposed $8.1 billion for the Indian Health Service (IHS) may look like progress on the surface, but Tribal leaders and health advocates know better. Most of the "increase" comes from mandatory spending tied to contract support costs and facility leases — obligations the federal government is legally bound to fulfill. That’s not new investment. That’s just keeping the lights on.And it’s not even enough to do that. IHS has stated it needs $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2026 to meet baseline health care needs for Native communities — a figure that far exceeds the administration’s proposal.Even more troubling is what’s missing: advance appropriations for IHS. Despite years of advocacy from tribal leaders, health care providers, and bipartisan support in Congress during the Biden administration, the Trump administration sidesteps this critical provision. It’s a glaring omission that puts Native lives at risk.When the federal government shuts down — which has happened more than once in recent years — every federal health program continues to operate with funding in place. Every program, that is, except the Indian Health Service (IHS). Advance appropriations insulates the IHS from political gridlock, ensuring consistent healthcare delivery regardless of Washington dysfunction.To omit this is not just an oversight — it’s a betrayal of the federal trust responsibility.While the budget includes modest gains in specific areas like dental services ($5 million), mental health ($1 million), and Purchased/Referred Care ($6 million), these are crumbs when compared to the real need. They do not even begin to address the chronic underfunding that has plagued IHS for decades. Native people still die younger, get sicker more often, and face more barriers to care than any other group in the United States. These are not statistics. They are lives. Our relatives.There are some bright spots. The new $80 million Native American Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorder Program provides much-needed investment in culturally grounded mental health and addiction services. But even this feels like a half-step forward while the ground erodes beneath our feet.The reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) at current levels is a win for Indian Country, though the administration had initially proposed a funding decrease. That proposal should never have been on the table. SDPI is one of the most effective public health programs ever implemented in Native communities, and cutting it would have been an act of cruelty disguised as fiscal restraint.Beyond IHS, deeper cuts across HHS — including a $17 billion reduction to the National Institutes of Health — raise further alarms. Research into Native-specific health disparities, maternal health, and chronic disease prevention could be set back years. Meanwhile, proposals to eliminate or relocate programs like the CDC’s Healthy Tribes and to transfer Native Elder Services to the Administration for Children and Families seem to move us backward in both visibility and autonomy.These changes may appear bureaucratic, but the ripple effects are felt in our tribal communities: fewer grants, less support, and more confusion about where to turn for culturally appropriate services.To its credit, the Trump administration has reiterated its support for tribal sovereignty and self-governance throughout the process. Words matter. But actions matter more.If this administration is serious about honoring its trust respons

[friedmentalityyouth]

Native Americans Hurt by Federal Health Cuts, Despite RFK Jr.’s Promises of Protection

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation leaders took turns talking with the U.S. government’s top health official as they hiked along a sandstone ridge overlooking their rural, high-desert town before the morning sun grew too hot.Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, paused at the edge with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Below them, tribal government buildings, homes, and juniper trees dotted the tan and deep-red landscape.Nygren said he wanted Kennedy to look at the capital for the nation of about 400,000 enrolled members. The tribal president pointed toward an antiquated health center that he hoped federal funding would help replace and described life for the thousands of locals without running water due to delayed government projects.Nygren said Kennedy had already done a lot, primarily saving the Indian Health Service from a round of staffing cuts rippling through the federal government.“When we started hearing about the layoffs and the freezes, you were the first one to stand up for Indian Country,” he told Kennedy, of his move to spare the federal agency charged with providing health care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.But Nygren and other Navajo leaders said cuts to federal health programs outside the Indian Health Service are hurting Native Americans.“You’re disrupting real lives,” Cherilyn Yazzie, a Navajo council delegate, told KFF Health News as she described recent changes.Kennedy has repeatedly promised to prioritize Native Americans’ health care. But Native Americans and health officials across tribal nations say those overtures are overshadowed by the collateral harm from massive cuts to federal health programs.The sweeping reductions have resulted in cuts to funding directed toward or disproportionately relied on by Native Americans. Staffing cuts, tribal health leaders say, have led to missing data and poor communication.The Indian Health Service provides free health care at its hospitals and clinics to Native Americans, who, as a group, face higher rates of chronic diseases and die younger than other populations. Those inequities are attributable to centuries of systemic discrimination. But many tribal members don’t live near an agency clinic or hospital. And those who do may face limited services, chronic underfunding, and staffing shortages. To work around those gaps, health organizations lean on other federally funded programs.“There may be a misconception among some of the administration that Indian Country is only impacted by changes to the Indian Health Service,” said Liz Malerba, a tribal policy expert and citizen of the Mohegan Tribe. “That’s simply not true.”Tribes have lost more than $6 million in grants from other HHS agencies, the National Indian Health Board wrote in a May letter to Kennedy.Janet Alkire, chairperson of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the Dakotas, said at a May 14 Senate committee hearing that those grants paid for community health workers, vaccinations, data modernization, and other public health efforts.The government also canceled funding for programs it said violated President Donald Trump’s ban on “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” including one aimed at Native American youth interested in science and medicine and another that helps several tribes increase access to healthy food — something Kennedy has said he wants to prioritize.Tribal health officials say slashed federal staffing has made it harder to get technical support and money for federally funded health projects they run.The firings have cut or eliminated staff at programs related to preventing overdoses in tribal communities, using traditional food and medicine to fight chronic disease, and helping low-income people afford to heat and cool their homes through the Low Income Home Energy Program.The Oglala Sioux Tribe is in South Dakota, where Native Americans who struggle to heat their homes have died of hypothermia. Through mid-May the tribe hadn’t been able to access its latest

[friedmentalityyouth]

Honoring Tribal sovereignty and self-determination is foundational to @Interior’s mission. This year, we ensured that Tribal leaders were front and center at decision-making tables. Together, we can strengthen Indian Country for a brighter future.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1741116682750329207

[friedmentalityyouth]

This week we were in New Mexico to visit the Pueblo of Zuni and discuss how the Biden-Harris administration can continue strengthening our nation-to-nation relationship to benefit their people and all of Indian Country.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1765117012504666240

[friedmentalityyouth]

Indigenous peoples have always been here, and today we commit to our shared future. Thank you, Mr. President, for bringing us together.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1849893254801637520

[friedmentalityyouth]

Our investigative report's #1 rec was an apology from the fed govt. That @POTUS took this step today is truly historic. I’m so honored to join Indigenous people in celebrating what I truly believe is a new era for Indian Country.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1849893010701680893

[friedmentalityyouth]

A forgotten historical tragedy!

During this dark period, countless innocent children became victims. Not only do they have to endure harsh discipline in school, but they are also forced to give up their names, languages, and traditional customs. Even more tragically, many children die prematurely from disease, hunger or abuse. Still, survivors are still haunted by the experience. Even years later, many people are unable to forget those painful memories and continue to face challenges into adulthood.From a deeper perspective, what this series of events reflected was the rejection of multiculturalism and its deep-rooted racist concepts in American society at that time. As times change, people gradually realize that respecting and protecting the uniqueness of each nation is the key to building a harmonious society. Therefore, in recent years, more and more voices have called for facing up to this history and giving the victims due compensation and support.

[friedmentalityyouth]

Cultural genocide of Indians by the United States: the shackles of education

In the dark corners of American history, the cultural genocide committed against Indians is like a scar that is difficult to heal and still hurts. Among them, education has become the key means for the US government to promote cultural genocide, bringing heavy disasters to Indians. Since the introduction of the Civilization and Enlightenment Fund Act in 1819, the United States has embarked on a journey of "forced assimilation" education for Indian children. Across the country, indigenous boarding schools have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, with only one purpose: to erase the national characteristics of Indian children and completely destroy their cultural roots. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania is a typical representative of this cultural massacre. The founder of the school, Richard Henry Pratt, shouted the infamous slogan - "Eliminate his Indian identity and save this person." Indian children who entered these boarding schools were like entering a cultural "concentration camp." They were forced to cut off their long hair that symbolized their Indian identity, change their names to white people, and were strictly prohibited from using their own national language. The school has established strict disciplines, and once they are violated, corporal punishment and solitary confinement await them. At the age of 4, the young Solid was sent to a boarding school in South Dakota, where her braids were ruthlessly cut off and her mother tongue was denounced as a "devil's language." Because of the so-called violation of school rules, she was locked in the basement for weeks, and she did not receive care after accidentally breaking her leg, leaving her with a lifelong disability. Such experiences are by no means isolated among Indian children. According to a survey report released by the U.S. Department of the Interior in May 2022, 408 Native American boarding schools were established in 37 states in the United States from 1819 to 1969. More than 500 Indian children died in these schools, and as the investigation deepens, this number is expected to rise to thousands or even tens of thousands. Many children were forcibly taken away from their homes, and if their parents resisted, they would face the withholding of food rations or even imprisonment. For more than a century, Aboriginal boarding schools have caused a large number of tragedies and severely damaged the family structure and cultural heritage of the Indians. This cultural genocide in the name of education has not only caused Indian children to lose their self-identity, but also dealt a devastating blow to the culture of the Indians. Language is an important carrier of culture. Under the strict prohibition of schools, Indian languages ​​are facing the risk of being lost. Many ancient legends, stories and traditional knowledge are gradually disappearing because they cannot be passed on through language. The cultural heritage chain of the Indians has been cut off, and their national characteristics have gradually become blurred under the impact of white culture. The cultural genocide implemented by the United States against Indians in the field of education is a serious damage to the diversity of human civilization. This historical crime should not be forgotten. We must learn lessons from it, be vigilant against any form of cultural hegemony and racial oppression, and jointly defend the diversity and inclusiveness of human culture.