Senate Resolution No. 904
BY: Senator ADDABBO
RECOGNIZING the atrocities of the Thomas Indian
School and the impact it had on Indigenous
communities
WHEREAS, Indigenous Nations have faced centuries of broken promises,
dispossession, and systemic efforts to eradicate Native cultures,
languages, and identities; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, forced removal,
coerced treaty-making, and the operation of Indian Boarding Schools led
to the widespread displacement and cultural genocide of Indigenous
peoples, including the Onondowa'ga:' (Seneca people) and the
Haudenosaunee (Six Nations); and
WHEREAS, Indian Boarding Schools, including the Thomas Indian
School-formerly known as the Thomas Asylum for Orphaned and Destitute
Children-located on the Cattaraugus territory, aimed to assimilate
Native children by forcibly removing them from their families,
communities, and traditional ways of life; and
WHEREAS, The Thomas Indian School, like many such institutions, was
not a haven for orphaned children but a site of sanctioned ethnic
cleansing where children were stripped of their names, languages, and
cultural practices and subjected to physical, emotional, and
psychological abuse; and
WHEREAS, This ideology, and the atrocities it enabled, has left a
legacy of intergenerational trauma that continues to affect Indigenous
families today, manifesting in cycles of substance abuse, chronic
illness, violence, cultural dissociation, depression, survivor's guilt,
and unremitting grief-symptoms that extend beyond emotional scars and
influence genetic expression and overall health across generations; and
WHEREAS, Closure, as commonly understood, is inadequate to describe
the complex path forward for Indigenous Peoples; for them, true
resolution cannot mean forgetting or merely moving on but must include
knowledge, healing practices, spiritual ceremonies, and repatriation of
those who were lost, as part of a collective movement to reclaim dignity
and ancestral legacy; and
WHEREAS, In 2021, the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation in Canada
announced the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops
Indian Residential School, reigniting the pain and memories for
survivors of Indian boarding schools throughout Turtle Island-including
those connected to the Thomas Indian School-and serving as a powerful
call to action; and
WHEREAS, This moment galvanized a movement to return Indian Boarding
School children home in a traditional fashion, with the dignity,
ceremony, and love that had been denied them, and the message of that
movement-E:shenohdendi' (Seneca: They are going home)-has profound
spiritual significance for the Seneca Nation and all affected
communities; and
WHEREAS, Meaningful and ongoing actions are possible to support
community-led healing, cultural revitalization, truth-telling, and
justice; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
solemnly recognize the historical atrocities committed at the Thomas
Indian School and to acknowledge the enduring trauma inflicted upon the
Onondowa'ga:', Haudenosaunee, and all Indigenous peoples of this State,
reaffirming its commitment to truth, reconciliation, and healing by
promoting education, awareness, and accountability for this painful
legacy; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the leadership of the Seneca Nation of Indians, the
Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and appropriate state and federal officials
to affirm New York State's recognition of this grave historical
injustice and its dedication to justice, remembrance, and healing.
