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Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
On September 28, 2021, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter (DTLL) announcing several upcoming Tribal consultations on its Indian Boarding School Initiative. This Initiative was announced
by Secretary Deb Haaland on June 22, 2021 and will serve as an investigation into the loss of human life and the lasting consequences of residential Indian boarding schools. The primary goal will be to identify boarding school facilities and sites; the location of known and possible student burial sites located at or near school facilities; and the identities and Tribal affiliations of children interred at such locations.
The following topics were provided in the DTLL to facilitate discussion during these upcoming consultations—
- Appropriate protocols on handling sensitive information in existing records;
- Ways to address cultural concerns and handling of information generated from existing records or from potential sitework activities;
- Potential repatriation of human remains, including cultural concerns and compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act;
- Future policy and procedure implementation to protect burial sites, locations, confidential information, and culturally sensitive information;
- Management of sites of former boarding schools;
- Privacy issues or cultural concerns to be identified as part of the Initiative; and
- Other issues the Department should address in its review.
Details regarding the upcoming Tribal consultations on the Indian Board School Initiative are as follows—
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Time: 1:00pm to 5:00pm ET
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Time: 1:00pm to 5:00pm ET
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021
Time: 1:00pm to 5:00pm ET
DOI will be accepting written comments on these consultations until Friday, December 17, 2021. Comments should be submitted to consultation@bia.gov. For more information or if you have any questions please contact Heidi Todacheene, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, via email at Heidi_Todacheene@ios.doi.gov, or by calling (202) 208-7163.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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