HARRISBURG, Pa. — On Monday, President Joe Biden officially established a national monument at a site in Pennsylvania that once housed a Native American boarding school, aiming to honor the resilience of Indigenous communities whose children were mandated to attend this institution and others like it that have a troubling legacy of abuse.
The announcement of the Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument came during a summit for tribal leaders held at the White House and is designed to confront what Biden has characterized as a “dark chapter” in American history. Biden emphasized the importance of acknowledging all facets of history, stating, “We’re not about erasing history. We’re about recognizing history — the good, the bad, and the ugly.” His intent is that future generations will not forget the atrocities that occurred.
Between 1879 and 1918, thousands of Native children passed through the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which was the first of its kind and served as a model for a vast network of government-operated boarding schools across at least 37 states and territories. These schools operated under forced assimilation policies that aimed to obliterate Native American cultures and “civilize” Indigenous children so they could assimilate into white society. President Biden noted that approximately 7,800 children from over 140 tribes were forcibly taken from their families, stating, “It was wrong making the Carlisle Indian school a national model.”
James Thorpe Kossakowski, the great-grandson of the celebrated Olympian Jim Thorpe, expressed that the monument designation marked a significant and “historic” advancement in enhancing American awareness of the federal government’s oppressive assimilation strategies. Reflecting on his personal connection to the site, he described the deep emotional impact of being in locations where his great-grandfather once lived, trained, and met his great-grandmother.
Many of these children were taken against their parents’ will, and it is estimated that around 187 Native American and Alaska Native children died while at Carlisle due to diseases such as tuberculosis. Efforts are currently underway to return the remains of these children, which are interred on the school’s grounds, to their respective homelands.
Native American Rights Fund attorney Beth Margaret Wright, who is actively working to compel the Army to repatriate the remains of children from Carlisle, highlighted the significance of these tragic histories. She noted that the remains symbolize the harm inflicted upon families from more than 50 tribal nations ranging from Alaska to New Mexico, reinforcing the brutal legacy of the Carlisle institution.
In September, the remains of three children who died at Carlisle were exhumed and returned to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana. The Interior Department has reported that at least 973 Native American children perished in government-funded boarding schools that were in operation for over 150 years. During numerous public listening sessions organized by the Interior Department, former students detailed their harrowing experiences of abuse, including physical punishment for speaking their native languages and being forcibly stripped of their identities.
The federal policy of forced assimilation officially ceased with the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act in 1978; however, thorough investigations into the boarding school system were not conducted until under the Biden administration. In October, Biden extended an apology on behalf of the United States government for the sins committed at these schools and the policies that enabled them.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose grandparents were also victims of this same boarding school system, acknowledged that no single measure could fully rectify the injuries caused by these institutions. Nonetheless, she believes the establishment of the new monument will allow more Americans to learn about and reflect on the detrimental effects of these historical practices on Indigenous populations.
The funding for these schools and other assimilation programs totaled an inflation-adjusted $23.3 billion, with many religious and private organizations receiving federal assistance as they participated in these assimilation efforts. The creation of this monument in central Pennsylvania marks Biden’s seventh national monument initiative, following his restoration or expansion of several others.
The 25-acre site, part of the U.S. Army War College campus, will be managed by the National Park Service in collaboration with the Army. For Wright, the remnants of the train tracks that once delivered children to Carlisle — now removed but still visible in imprint form — serve as a haunting reminder of the horrors these young individuals faced upon their arrival.
As the Biden administration nears the end of its term, both Native American tribes and conservation advocates are advocating for additional monument designations to further illuminate these storied histories.
