No "Reconciliation" With Boarding School Genocide

In 2024, the U.S. government acknowledged that nearly 1,000 Indigenous children were buried in unmarked graves at federally funded boarding schools. A separate study by the Washington Post estimated the number to be over 3,000. This long-overdue admission came in the aftermath of Canada’s National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has reported that the number of boarding school deaths has now exceeded 4,000.

In both countries, the boarding school system exemplifies a textbook case of g*nocide, specifically the forcible transfer of children. The intent was clear: to systematically erase Indigenous identity and nationhood. Native children were to be “civilised” by stripping them of their families, cultures, ways of life, and languages. The widespread disease, neglect, and instances of physical and sexual abuse left even the survivors traumatised for life.

In 2022, Canada reluctantly and symbolically recognised this as an act of genocide. It observes empty and symbolic official commemorations of "Truth and Reconciliation Day" every September 30. The U.S., conversely, has not acknowledged this and is unlikely to do so under the current leadership, which openly glorifies the so-called Indian Wars.

However, neither country is willing to consider meaningful reparations or return even a small portion of stolen land to its rightful stewards. This reluctance persists even as they continue to support their fellow settler colony’s actions in Gaza without reservation.