Native American boarding school survivors of abuse and their descendants shared memories and tears in Arizona on U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's yearlong “Road to Healing” initiative.
They spoke Friday at a school in the Gila Indian River Community just south of Phoenix before a large audience that included Gov. Katie Hobbs and Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego.
It is the fourth stop for the nation’s first and only Native American Cabinet secretary following stops in South Dakota, Oklahoma and Michigan.
Several testimonies addressed issues in addition to abuse, including losing one's culture, language and identity.