Indianz.Com > News > Native Sun News Today: Resolution acknowledges Indian boarding school survivors

Indian boarding school legislation comes up short
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
PIERRE — In a nod to historical injustice, the South Dakota State House of Representatives passed a resolution on March 2 acknowledging and honoring the survivors of American Indian boarding schools.
House Concurrent Resolution 6014 was introduced and sponsored by State Rep. Peri Pourier, D-Pine Ridge, who is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
“This passage from the House of Representatives speaks volumes towards reconciliation,” Pourier told the Native Sun News Today. “The acknowledgement of the suffering and abuse while honoring survivors’ resiliency is long overdue.”
However, Native Sun News Today owner Tim Giago, author of the 2006 non-fiction Children Left Behind: The Dark Legacy of Indian Mission Boarding Schools, objected.
“I want our legislators to rescind the law that prevents me and thousands of other former boarding school students from suing the schools where the abuse took place,” Giago immediately responded in a social media post.
“We would rather have that freedom than to be falsely honored,” he said.
Previously in 2019, the South Dakota House Judiciary Committee killed a bill that could have opened the window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to pursue civil suits against entities, such as the Catholic Church, which ran the boarding school Giago was forced to attend.
One of the 2019 bill’s opponents was a lobbyist for the St. Joseph Indian School, which is affiliated with the Catholic church, arguing that schools that are currently doing good work for American Indian children and communities may be “bogged down” with civil actions against them, according to an article in the Rapid City Journal on February 12, 2019.
“As a granddaughter, I felt it was my duty to bring this issue forward,” said Rep. Pourier. “This is the first acknowledgment from the South Dakota State Legislature on this very difficult issue.”
Her resolution was adopted on a vote of 52-17.
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
Support Native media!
Read the rest of the story on Native Sun News Today: Indian boarding school legislation comes up short
Contact Darren Thompson at darrenjthompson@hotmail.com
Note: Copyright permission Native Sun News Today
Related Stories
Tim Giago: Racist law harms survivors of Indian boarding schools (March 8, 2021)
Advertisement
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Live at the 100th Santa Fe Indian Market Day 1
Native America Calling: Turning around threats to salmon
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs touts $720 million for Native communities in Inflation Reduction Act
Native leaders join national panel to address derogatory place names
Montana Free Press: Native voters battle ballot restrictions in court
Kaiser Health News: Oglala Sioux Tribe opens doors for marijuana dispensaries
Native America Calling: The legacy of Elvis for Native Americans
National Congress of American Indians loses top executive after a year
Mother Jones: ‘We’ve been under these genocidal policies for 500 years’
Pokagon Band brings in new council members
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Cronkite News: Fight over copper mine at sacred Apache site continues
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation offers relief for farmers and ranchers
Native America Calling: The new book-banning trend
Native America Calling: Saving the migratory Monarch butterfly
More Headlines
Native America Calling: Turning around threats to salmon
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs touts $720 million for Native communities in Inflation Reduction Act
Native leaders join national panel to address derogatory place names
Montana Free Press: Native voters battle ballot restrictions in court
Kaiser Health News: Oglala Sioux Tribe opens doors for marijuana dispensaries
Native America Calling: The legacy of Elvis for Native Americans
National Congress of American Indians loses top executive after a year
Mother Jones: ‘We’ve been under these genocidal policies for 500 years’
Pokagon Band brings in new council members
NAFOA: 5 Things You Need to Know this Week
Cronkite News: Fight over copper mine at sacred Apache site continues
Chuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation offers relief for farmers and ranchers
Native America Calling: The new book-banning trend
Native America Calling: Saving the migratory Monarch butterfly
More Headlines