An Apology for "a sin on our soul"

Yesterday President Joe Biden of the United States travelled to an Indigenous community where he made a formal apology to those who had suffered abuse in what were called Indian Boarding Schools.

According to the New York Times: 

During a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, Mr. Biden decried what he called “a sin on our soul” and promised to do more to make up for the federal government’s former policy of forciblyremoving Native American children and putting them in boarding schools where they faced abuse and neglect that led in some cases to death. 

“The federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened — until today,” the president told a cheering crowd that included families afflicted by the policy. “I formally apologize as president of the United States of America for what we did. I formally apologize. It’s long overdue.”

Perhaps it's our Canadian tendency to say "sorry" that led us to issue a similar federal apology regarding what were called Residential Schools in June of 2008, more than sixteen years ago. I recall listening to this apology live on the radio while driving  and pulling over in order to listen. Even then it seemed too long in coming. 

The phrase I found striking was "a sin on our soul", a recognition of moral culpability before the Creator. In the United States 19,000 children attended the boarding schools and 1,000 died. In Canada 150,000 were in residential schools and 6,000 died. The difference in these totals is stunning and shameful, truly a monstrous sin, an affliction on our collective Canadian soul. 

I appreciate that Biden used this phrase, knowing that in both the US and Canada Christian denominations were willing partners in this genocide. In 1986 the United Church offered its first apology to Indigenous Peoples followed by the 1998 apology for its role in Indian Residential Schools. Since 2008 the UCC has been actively engaged in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), which was created to address the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools. The United Church is responsible for 15 residential schools operated between 1849 and 1969. 

This American apology comes days before the federal election and we'll see how the billions of dollars worth of promises made by this administration will be carried out by either of the presidential candidates. We can hope that this is a step toward healing, truth and reconciliation. 

The United Church apology in 1998 included these words:

“We pray that you will hear the sincerity of our words today and that you will witness the living out of our apology in our actions in the future.”

Amen.