Hollow Promises or Real Progress? The Biden Administration’s Commitment to Native Americans

A march to the White House for Indigenous rights in 2020. Source: IndyKids

In a speech given on October 12th, Vice President Kamala Harris told the National Congress of American Indians, U.S.’s largest organization of native peoples, "We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on native communities today.” The speech came in the wake of a proclamation issued by President Biden recognizing October 11th as both Columbus and Indigenous Peoples Day, also stating "We must never forget the centuries-long campaign of violence, displacement, assimilation, and terror wrought upon Native communities and Tribal Nations throughout our country.”

The proclamation and accompanying statements represent a significant turning point in the White House’s official position on the nation’s indigenous populations. Starkly contrasting the previous administration’s open celebration of Columbus Day — in seemingly direct defiance of revisionist critiques of Columbus’ role in the “discovery” of the Americas — President Biden and Vice President Harris’ statements constitute a recognition of the centuries of atrocities and injustices committed against Native Americans in U.S. history, and a pledge to rectify the pervading conditions of systemic oppression that were thus erected.

While largely appreciative of the effort, leaders of native groups and Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations alike have been quick to note the newly recognized holiday’s inextricable relationship with Columbus Day. Cliff Matias, an organizer of a Randall’s Island celebration in New York City, captured this sentiment, stating, "The only reason we celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day today is because it is Columbus Day...We celebrate the survival of indigenous people despite Columbus." Additionally, many view the administration’s (somewhat vague) pledges with skepticism, as shown by the October 11th demonstration in front of the White House protesting the proposed measures’ inadequacy in addressing the disproportionate effects of issues like climate change, COVID-19, and fossil fuels on native communities. 

Amid inevitable questions of whether meaningful progress will follow the Biden administration’s public-facing position and ensuing promises, the President took concrete action by issuing an executive order launching numerous efforts designed to strengthen tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) and boost overall economic and educational opportunities for indigenous people. The order recognized the U.S.’s history of imposing devastating educational policies explicitly aimed at assimilating Native students and communities into Western culture. In what is perhaps a show of long-term, meaningful commitment, Executive Order 14049 created an initiative chaired by three of Biden’s cabinet members from relevant departments, focused on the continued development and improvement of the education system for Native Americans. 

In backing up her pledge to “address the impact of the past,” VP Harris promised the impending renegotiation of a memo of understanding about federal funding for job training on tribal lands. Previously revised in 2018 under the Trump administration, the memo was renegotiated by 12 federal agencies, yet critically lacked any input from the tribal nations it directly affects. Though relatively early into his term, Biden’s commitment to Native Americans shows promise of achieving meaningful outcomes beyond mere performative grandstanding. Nonetheless, there are likely few forms of significant progress that would not be left vulnerable to erosion should Republicans retake the White House in 2024.

Juxtaposed against the track record incurred by Donald Trump over the last four years, even the most unproven of the Biden administration’s commitments to Native Americans constitute a quantum leap in progress. Far beyond the use of harmful rhetoric and a deliberate shirking of the preexisting diplomatic status quo between U.S. Presidents and tribal leaders, Trump approved pipelines crossing tribal lands, reduced the size of the Bear Ears National Monument (established at the request of Native leaders), and built a U.S.-Mexico border wall on sacred grounds. 

The ease with a single term the Republican President wiped away decades of incremental progress between Native Americans and the U.S. government holds grim implications for the longevity of any progress feasibly achievable in the Biden era. The precarious nature of Native American relations is telling of national attitudes on the issue. With the fate of so many native communities hinging on the whims of the party in power, it would seem that nearly half of U.S. voters do not see indigenous rights and issues as a priority for the government to address. Widely rejecting revisionist perspectives like Critical Race Theory, which reveal persisting power structures that systematically oppress minority groups to the benefit of majorities, conservative pundits and politicians have framed the Biden administration's commitments as yet another instance of the Left’s over fixation with “political correctness.”

Though miles ahead of their political counterparts, Democrats’ approach to indigenous rights and allyship with Native American communities warrants examination and critique. Even as Biden’s October 11th established national recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, it simultaneously reaffirmed federal recognition of Columbus Day — a national celebration of the 15th century “explorer” who brought disease, genocide, colonialism, and the slave trade to the Eastern hemisphere. Biden’s reluctance to topple Columbus’ status as a historical hero speaks perhaps to concerted attempts to foster moderate partisan appeal that have characterized his campaign since the primaries. As a nation, the U.S. must develop a candid, empirical account of its founding and rise to global superpower status, unencumbered by patriotic bias. Once America’s checkered history is traced to pervading structures of modern oppression, a clear path toward rectification and atonement will be revealed.