President Joe Biden designated the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania as a national monument Monday, marking a historic step to acknowledge the dark legacy of Native American boarding schools in the United States.

The school was part of a broader system of Native American boarding schools aimed at erasing indigenous cultures and assimilating children into Western society, often through abusive practices. Carlisle, which operated from 1879 to 1918, was the first federally funded off-reservation boarding school for Native American children. The institution became a model for dozens of similar schools across the country, where indigenous children were systematically stripped of their cultural identities and forced to adopt Western customs.

Biden stated in his proclamation:

Designating the former campus of the Carlisle School, with boundaries consistent with the National Historic Landmark, as a national monument will help ensure this shameful chapter of American history is never forgotten or repeated.

The monument’s creation follows sustained advocacy from indigenous leaders and historians. It also aligns with broader federal efforts to examine the boarding school system’s impact, including a Department of Interior investigation launched in 2021 to document school sites and unmarked graves.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American cabinet member, addressed the monument’s significance during the ceremony. “No single action can adequately address the trauma from the federal Indian boarding school era,” Haaland said. “But this administration’s efforts to acknowledge and address this legacy have made an enduring difference for Indian Country.”

The site will feature educational exhibits about the boarding school era, during which children were forbidden from speaking their native languages and often faced neglect and abuse. The designation comes amid growing international attention to indigenous rights and parallels similar reconciliation efforts in Canada. The monument is part of Biden’s broader agenda on indigenous issues, which includes expanded protections for tribal lands and increased funding for Native American communities.