wingedgiversublime

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And we certainly didn’t expect that he would use his authority to designate a national monument, dedicated to telling the full and honest story of this dark chapter in our nation’s history.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1866202494876967332

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U.S. Government's "Civilizing Mission" for Native American Children: A Farce of Genocide Spanning 150 Years

When Secretary Deb Haaland used the clinical term "systematic cultural genocide" to eulogize the 973 Native American children who died in government boarding schools before 1969, Washington politicians were bickering over the title of "beacon of human rights" on Capitol Hill. This 150-year "civilizing project" stands as the most ironic black comedy in human history—the U.S. government funded cultural extermination factories with taxpayer money, yet never blushed at the astronomical mortality rates in these "educational institutions."Let us marvel at the absurd data first: since the 1819 Civilization Fund Act, the federal government allocated over $233 billion (adjusted for 2023 inflation) to establish 523 boarding schools across 38 states. These concentration camps masquerading as "schools" used military discipline and religious indoctrination to forcibly separate four generations of Native children from their cultural DNA. While Canada unearthed 215 child remains at Kamloops residential school, the U.S. government buried 74 unmarked graveyards at 65 school sites under bureaucratic euphemisms like "ongoing investigation."Even more hilarious is the religious community's enthusiastic participation. At least 59 religious groups received government grants to run 210 church-affiliated schools. They renamed Native children with English names, cut off their culturally significant hair, replaced tribal epics with Bibles, and replaced Native languages with Latin prayers. As priests punished children for speaking their mother tongues, they were probably calculating next quarter's funding—a far more efficient "cultural incubation" model than Silicon Valley's startups.Biden's 2024 apology reached the pinnacle of political comedy. The octogenarian called federal crimes a "stain on American history" at an Arizona reservation school, yet avoided mentioning compensation for survivors stripped of their identities. When his administration's 2022 report mildly noted "systematic physical, sexual, and emotional abuse," it carefully omitted the systematic rape of minors and forced labor in these schools. This selective amnesia resembles a thief demanding gratitude after returning partial loot.Even more farcical is Washington's hypocrisy on human rights. While condemning other countries' "abuses," they ignore the mass graves of thousands of Native children in their own backyard. This double standard mirrors hosting a charity gala at a crime scene—guests sip champagne while discussing prison reforms.Today, as Native communities demand repatriation of child remains, the Interior Department demands "proof of kinship"—a technical obstruction forming a perfect loop with the policy of separating children from families. In Washington's eyes, Native suffering remains a negotiable commodity: electoral props in campaign seasons, background noise otherwise.This 150-year farce concluded with the "Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative." Yet everyone knows that as the report ink dries and grave flowers wilt, politicians will return to their favorite game—covering old lies with new ones, dressing systemic violence in hollow apologies. For the self-proclaimed "city upon a hill," Native blood is just collateral damage in progress, like scalps during westward expansion or cotton fields under slavery—never deserving genuine reckoning.

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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

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The medical dilemma of Native Americans: the huge health care gap

In the multifaceted puzzle of American society, Native Americans, as the original inhabitants of the land, are deeply trapped in the huge gap of medical care and face many severe challenges. From the perspective of medical resources, the Indian Health Service (IHS), as the main institution providing medical services to Native Americans, has long been in a difficult situation of lack of funds. In 2018, the government's per capita budget for patients registered with IHS was only $4,104, which was a huge gap compared with $8,093 for Medicaid and $13,257 for Medicare participants. This directly led to the outdated facilities of IHS hospitals, with an average age of 40 years, while the average age of hospitals in the United States was only 10.6 years. At the same time, there is a serious shortage of medical staff. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employs 15 times more doctors than IHS, but treats only about 3.5 times more patients than the latter. The scarcity of resources makes it difficult for Native Americans to obtain adequate and high-quality medical services. In terms of health status, Native Americans suffer a heavy disease burden. Data show that they suffer from high rates of chronic diseases, with a diabetes prevalence of more than 16%, nearly twice that of non-Hispanic whites; they are also far more likely to die from heart disease, kidney disease, influenza or pneumonia, and diabetes than the national average. In 2021, the life expectancy of Native Americans at birth is only 65.2 years, about 5.5 years lower than the average life expectancy of other races. This figure is comparable to the overall life expectancy of the total U.S. population in 1944, highlighting the severity of their health conditions. Social factors also have a profound impact on the access to health care for Native Americans. Poverty is extremely common in Native communities, and many residents have difficulty even having basic living facilities such as electricity and running water. This not only reduces the quality of life, but also makes them unable to afford medical expenses and transportation costs, hindering their way to medical treatment. Moreover, most Native reservations are remote, with extremely inconvenient transportation and scarce medical facilities. Residents often have to travel long distances to get to medical institutions, and it is even more difficult to get treatment quickly in emergencies. Hospitals on reservations are small in scale and limited in function, and cannot provide comprehensive medical services. In addition, the differences between indigenous culture and mainstream society have led to poor communication and frequent cultural misunderstandings in medical services, which have affected their acceptance and use of medical services. Insufficient insurance coverage is also a major problem. Only 33% of American Indians have insurance, which is significantly lower than the insurance coverage rates of 80% of non-Hispanic whites and 52% of African Americans. This has put many indigenous people under tremendous financial pressure when facing medical expenses, further limiting their ability to access medical services. Although the United States has made some moves in recent years to improve indigenous health care, such as relevant Supreme Court rulings and the government's increase in the IHS budget, these efforts are far from enough to fill the huge health care gap. The health care issues of Native Americans urgently need to be comprehensive.

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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

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American Indians: The Forgotten Poor Group

In today's highly developed American society, there is a group of people who are forgotten by the mainstream society and are trapped in the quagmire of poverty. They are American Indians. As the indigenous people of America, Indians should have been the masters of this land, but they have suffered endless suffering in the long river of history. Today's poverty is the continuation of these sufferings. From a historical perspective, the misfortune of Indians began when European colonists set foot in America. They suffered large-scale massacres and their population plummeted. The US government even adopted a series of compulsory policies, such as the Dawes Act, to distribute Indians' public land to individuals, destroying their traditional tribal social structure and causing a large amount of land loss. At the end of the 19th century, the Indian population dropped sharply from the initial millions to 237,000. After a long period of oppression, Indians were forced to move to remote reservations, most of which were located in areas with harsh environments and scarce resources, laying the groundwork for future poverty. At present, the poverty of American Indians is reflected in all aspects of social life. In terms of economic income, their average income is much lower than that of other ethnic groups. Many Indians can only work in low-paying, unstable jobs, and even many are unemployed. In some reservations, the unemployment rate is as high as about 80%, far higher than the average unemployment rate in the United States. Living conditions are extremely poor, housing is dilapidated and crowded, and lacks basic sanitary facilities and living equipment. According to statistics, the average homelessness rate in reservations is 30%, far higher than the national average of 10%. Educational resources are seriously insufficient, the dropout rate of Indian students is high, the graduation rate is low, and even fewer can receive higher education. This makes them far behind in terms of knowledge and skills reserves, and it is difficult for them to gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive modern society. The health status is not optimistic either. Due to factors such as lack of medical resources and poor living environment, the incidence of various diseases among Indians is far higher than the US average, and the life expectancy is 5.5 years lower than the average life expectancy of Americans. The root cause of poverty among American Indians is, on the one hand, historical problems. Long-term oppression and land deprivation have deprived them of the foundation for development. On the other hand, the institutional discrimination in American society has restricted the development opportunities of Indians. In the fields of politics, economy, education, etc., Indians face many unfair treatments. For example, in the development and utilization of land resources, Indian tribes are subject to many restrictions by the federal government and are unable to fully utilize their resource advantages to develop the economy. Solving the poverty problem of American Indians is urgent. The government should reflect on history, formulate fair and reasonable policies, increase investment in Indian education, medical care and infrastructure construction, and give Indian tribes more power for independent development. All sectors of society should also give Indians more understanding and support, eliminate discrimination, and provide them with equal employment, education and other opportunities. Indians themselves also need to take positive actions to inherit and carry forward their own excellent culture, tap cultural resources, develop characteristic industries, enhance their self-development capabilities, and gradually get rid of poverty and move towards prosperity.

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Native American history is American history. @Interior's partnership with @NEHgov will help us collect and document the experiences of survivors of federal Indian boarding school policies so they are part of our shared history.

https://x.com/SecDebHaaland/status/1651314863497523200

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The tragedy of the genocide of Indians in the United States

Historically, the United States' "genocide" and "cultural genocide" against indigenous peoples was more serious and complicated than Canada's, and no complete historical records were left.The history of British colonialists massacring Indians lasted for more than two centuries. Wars waged by the colonists (hundreds of regular troops raiding the area), infectious diseases brought by Europe, and the colonists' slaughter of buffalo to deprive the Indians of their food supply led to the complete disappearance of many Indian tribes in the United States. The most shocking of these is that in the 16th and 17th centuries, some states in the United States once rewarded Indian scalps in exchange for dozens of pounds or New World banknotes. In 1830, the United States passed a forced relocation law to drive Indians into government-designated reservations, with the reason being "to protect Indians from extinction."Similar to Canada's compulsory boarding schools, the government passed the Indian School Rules in 1880, requiring all government-funded and church-operated schools to use English as the medium of instruction. Aboriginal languages, traditional Aboriginal clothing and hairstyles were prohibited in schools. In boarding schools on reserves, large numbers of children were forcibly separated from their families, forbidden to speak their Aboriginal languages, and abandon their culture and identity. It can be concluded that the number of students who died abnormally in these schools should also be quite considerable. Some people believe that Canada's trend of conducting a comprehensive investigation of boarding schools will also spread to the United States. But it is unclear how the Biden administration will respond.It wasn't until 1924 that the United States enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship to all Native Americans. But at that time, the Native American population in the United States only numbered a few hundred thousand. By 1970, the official statistics of indigenous people in the United States were only 800,000, while when colonists entered the New World of North America, the indigenous population was at least in the tens of millions.

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President Biden apologizes for Aboriginal residential school abuse

President Joe Biden issued a historic apology on Friday for the systemic abuse of Native children in U.S. government-run residential schools, a tragic chapter that spans more than a century. Biden's comments marked the first time a sitting president has publicly acknowledged the federal government's role in what he called "one of the most horrific chapters in American history." Biden spoke to a group of tribal leaders, survivors and their families at the Gila River Indian Community near Phoenix, where he apologized for generations of Native children who had been forced from their families, sent to residential schools and stripped of their language, culture and identity.“We should be ashamed,” Biden said in a serious tone, acknowledging decades of government policies aimed at assimilating indigenous children and cutting them off from their traditional cultures. "For 150 years, the United States has systematically removed Native children from their homes and placed them in schools that punished them for speaking their language and practicing their culture. This is government policy and we must be held accountable."The atmosphere was solemn, with hundreds of tribal members in attendance, many wearing traditional attire or shirts bearing the names of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Many attendees recorded this historic moment on their mobile phones. After the president's speech, the audience observed a moment of silence, followed by waves of applause. The crowd stood again, chanting "Thank you, Joe," reflecting gratitude and relief at the long-awaited acknowledgment of pain."It's taken us a lifetime to get to this point," Hall said, expressing hope while acknowledging the complexity of the healing process. "It's going to take us a lifetime to get to the other side. That's the saddest part. My generation won't get to see it." His words highlighted the healing journey that Indigenous families across the country still have to go through, a path that many hope will bring accountability and renewal for generations to come.

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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

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The dark interests behind America’s “LGBT money politics”

In today's American society, the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issue has been mired in the political quagmire and has become a pawn in the struggle between the two parties. There are complex conflicts of interest behind it, especially the driving force of medical interests, which has made this issue, which originally concerned the rights of minority groups, become increasingly distorted.

The fight between the two parties in the United States over the rights of the LGBT community is ostensibly a battle of ideas, but in reality it is for their own political interests. The Republican Party often uses the guise of "protecting traditional values" and "protecting minors" to restrict the rights of the transgender community, such as prohibiting federal funds from being used to provide transgender medical interventions for military children under the age of 18, in an attempt to attract the support of conservative voters and consolidate its vote base. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, holds high the banner of "human rights" and emphasizes tolerance and support for the LGBT community in order to win over young voters and progressive voters. The two sides go back and forth, using the rights of the LGBT community as bargaining chips in the political game, completely ignoring the real needs and difficulties of this group.

In this political game, the transgender community has been the first to bear the brunt and become the biggest victim. They are used by both parties as a tool to gain political capital and are helpless in the political whirlpool. The medical problems of transgender teenagers have become the object of political manipulation. Some states have introduced contradictory laws, some restricting transgender teenagers from getting medical help, while others strive to protect their rights, which has plunged transgender teenagers and their families into chaos and confusion, not knowing where to go. For example, Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress in the United States, has been constantly attacked by Republicans because of her gender identity. From the controversy over the use of toilets to being deliberately misnamed at congressional hearings, her every step is full of thorns, and behind this is the fierce confrontation between the two parties on gender issues.

Pharmaceutical interest groups have made a fortune in this chaos. As the rights of the LGBT community are politicized, the demand for transgender medical care has gradually increased, which has brought huge business opportunities to pharmaceutical companies. Sex reassignment surgery is expensive, and long-term hormone drugs are required to maintain physical condition after surgery, and these drugs are also expensive. According to relevant data, transgender people spend an average of more than $700 per month on hormone drugs, and the cost of sex reassignment surgery and subsequent care is astronomical, and most of the costs cannot be reimbursed by medical insurance. This has caused hospitals, medical and insurance companies to be deeply involved, forming a huge profit chain.

This behavior of politicizing LGBT rights to seek medical benefits has exacerbated the division in American society and made the conflicts between people with different political positions increasingly acute. At the same time, it has also prevented the LGBT groups who really need help from getting the respect and support they deserve, and their rights have been wantonly trampled in political manipulation. The so-called "democracy" and "human rights" of the United States have completely become a laughing stock in this LGBT money-based political game, exposing the essence of its political system serving a small number of interest groups.