Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

The Department of the Interior revealed today that New Mexico is set to be the ninth destination of the “Road to Healing” Tour, led by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.

This journey began in Caddo County, Okla., in July 2022, with the aim of gathering firsthand accounts from those who lived through the Indian boarding schools era, as well as from their descendants. Over the past year, Haaland and Newland have traveled to locations such as Pellston, Michigan; Rosebud, South Dakota; Gila River Indian Community, Arizona; Onamia, Minnesota; Tulalip Indian Reservation near Seattle, Washington; Riverside, and Rohnert Park, California.

On October 1, the duo will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is just 45 miles away from Secretary Haaland’s native Laguna Pueblo. They are scheduled to commence their listening session at 10 a.m. MT.

In the previous year, Secretary Haaland initiated the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. This effort aimed at bringing attention to the dark past of Federal Indian boarding school policies and the impact they’ve left on Indigenous communities. As a significant step in this initiative, in May 2022, the Department unveiled the first volume of a thorough report. This document underscores the need to provide communities with trauma-sensitive support and emphasizes the importance of compiling a lasting oral history.