President Joe Biden is using his first presidential visit to Indian Country to formally apologize to Native Americans for a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated Indian children from their parents. Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community’s reservation in Arizona will also provide a boost to Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state.
President Joe Biden is using his long-promised first presidential visit to Indian Country to formally apologize to Native Americans on Friday for a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated Indian children from their parents.
Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community’s land on the outskirts of metro Phoenix in Arizona will also provide a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state.
Biden, whose presidency is winding down, had promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would make a visit to Indian Country.
The president, in an exchange with reporters Thursday before departing for Arizona, said an apology for the U.S. government’s role in the abuse and neglect of Native children was “something that should have been done a long time ago.” For decades, federal boarding schools were used to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House.
The moment will also give Biden a chance to spotlight his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that historically has favored Democrats, in a state he won just by 10,000 votes in 2020.
The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be similarly close, and both campaigns are doing whatever they can to improve turnout among bedrock supporters.
“The race is now a turnout grab,” said Mike O’Neil, a non-partisan pollster based in Arizona. “The trendlines throughout have been remarkably steady. The question is which candidate is going to be able to turn out their voters in a race that seems to be destined to be decided by narrow margins.”
Biden has been used sparingly on the campaign trail by Harris and other Democrats since he ended his reelection campaign in July.
But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal with Native American voters — a group that has trailed others in turnout rates.
