RECOGNIZING NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL SURVIVORS

On 2026-09-24, Representative Tom Cole (R-OK-4) delivered a floor speech titled "RECOGNIZING NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL SURVIVORS" in the House.

RECOGNIZING NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL SURVIVORS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 152 (Thursday, September 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 152 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E965] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RECOGNIZING NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL SURVIVORS ______ HON. TOM COLE of oklahoma in the house of representatives Thursday, September 24, 2026 Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, as the longest serving Native American in the United States House of Representatives, and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, I rise today to recognize the day of September 30, 2026, as National Orange Shirt Day or, National Day of Remembrance, to honor those who were forced to attend Indian boarding schools, and to recognize the experience of Indian boarding school victims and survivors. Today, I am proud to stand in support with Indian boarding school survivors, descendants, and Tribal nations to remember the children that never made it home and to honor the week of remembrance for the Indian boarding school era. As the lead sponsor of HR. 7325, the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act, I support formal investigation, documentation, and reporting on the histories of boarding schools, their policies, and long-term effects those schools and policies have had on Native American peoples. My democratic co-lead, Representative Sharice Davids, and I are dedicated to finding solutions for survivors, descendants, and Tribal communities. According to research from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, the Federal government funded boarding schools for Native Americans from 1819 through the 1960s that forced the removal of hundreds of thousands of American Indian and Alaska Native children as young as 3 years old, relocating them from their traditional homelands to 1 of at least 526 known Indian boarding schools, of which 125 remain open today, across 38 States. In my state of Oklahoma, there were 98 Federal boarding schools that were often overflowed to intentionally mix more than 30 different tribes to unsettle relations and prevent children from speaking common languages among each other. Many of the children who were taken to Indian boarding schools never returned home to their families or their communities. Many did not survive. The impact of this is still felt today. In closing, I call upon my colleagues to stand with me in Remembrance Day and support the passage of H.R 7325. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR7325