LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. — President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized to Native Americans for the “sin” of a government-run boarding school system that for decades forcibly separated children from their parents, calling it a “blot on American history” in his first presidential visit to Indian Country. “It’s a sin on our soul,” said Biden, his voice full of anger and emotion, during his visit to the Gila River Indian Community’s land on the outskirts of Phoenix’s metro area. “Quite frankly, there’s no excuse that this apology took 50 years to make.” It was a moment of both contrition and frustration as the president sought to recognize one of the “most horrific chapters” in the national story. Biden spoke of the abuses and deaths of Native children that resulted from the federal government’s policies, noting that “while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing” and that great nations “must know the good, the bad, the truth of who we are.” “I formally apologize as president of United States of America for what we did,” Biden said. The government’s removal of children from their Native American community for boarding schools “will always be a significant mark of shame, a blot on American history. For too long, this all happened with virtually no public attention, not written about in our history books, not taught in our schools.” Biden, whose presidency is winding down, had promised tribal leaders nearly two years ago that he would visit Indian Country. “Apologies and recognizing history is an important first step,” said Heather Shotton, vice president of diversity affairs at Fort Lewis College in Durango. “My hope is there will be continued investment, a clear plan and path forward, and investment for addressing continued intergenerational impacts of boarding schools in our tribal communities.” Fort Lewis once served as a Native American boarding school, when it was located in Hesperus, and now is a public college that serves a large Indigenous population. History Colorado last year released a report that found at least 65 children died at the Fort Lewis and Grand Junction Indian boarding schools, the two most prominent institutions among the nine federally funded Native American boarding and day schools that operated in Colorado. What made Shotton — a citizen of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and a Kiowa and Cheyenne descendant — most emotional was Biden’s acknowledgment of the intergenerational harm and impacts on Native families as a result of the boarding schools, and the resilience of Indigenous people who are still here despite that past. “We have so much that we have contributed throughout the history of this country, and we continue to contribute,” said Shotton a descendant of Indian boarding school survivors. “There is immense value and knowledge in our Indigenous communities. It was really striking to hear that acknowledged.” For decades, federal boarding schools were used to assimilate children into white society, according to the White House. Not everyone saw the apology as sufficient. “An apology is a nice start, but it is not a true reckoning, nor is it a sufficient remedy for the long history of colonial violence,” said Chase Iron Eyes, director of the Lakota People’s Law Project and Sacred Defense Fund. At least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. government’s abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period that ended in 1969, according to an Interior Department investigation that called for a U.S. government apology. At least 18,000 children, some as young as 4, were taken from their parents and forced to attend schools that sought to assimilate them. “President Biden deserves credit for finally putting attention on the issue and other issues impacting the community,” said Ramona Charette Klein, 77, a boarding school survivor and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. “I do think that will reflect well on Vice President Harris, and I hope this momentum will continue.” Democrats have stepped up outreach to Native American communities. Both Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, met with tribal leaders in Arizona and Nevada this month. And Clinton, who has been serving as a surrogate for Harris, last week met in North Carolina with the chairman of the Lumbee Tribe. The Democratic National Committee recently launched a six-figure ad campaign targeting Native American voters in Arizona, North Carolina, Montana and Alaska through digital, print and radio ads. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is locked in a competitive race with Republican Kari Lake for Arizona’s open Senate seat, has visited all 22 of Arizona’s federally recognized tribes. Harris started a recent campaign rally in Chandler, near where the Gila River reservation is located, with a shoutout to the tribe’s leader. Walz is scheduled to go to the Navajo Nation in Arizona on Saturday. The White House says Biden and Harris have built a substantial track record with Native Americans over the last four years. The president designated the sacred Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon in Arizona as national monuments and restored the boundaries for Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. In addition, the administration has directed nearly $46 billion in federal spending to tribal nations. The money has helped bring electricity to a reservation that never had electricity, expand access to high-speed internet, improve water sanitation, build roadways and more. Biden picked former New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as his Interior secretary, the first Native American to be appointed to a Cabinet position. Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico. She, in turn, ordered the comprehensive review in June 2021 of the troubled legacy of the federal government’s boarding school policies that led Biden to deliver the formal apology. Democrats hope Biden’s visit to the Gila River Indian Community will also provide a boost to Vice President Kamala Harris’ turnout effort in a key battleground state. The moment gave Biden a fuller chance to spotlight his and Harris’ support for tribal nations, a group that historically has favored Democrats, in a state he won just by 10,000 votes in 2020. The race between Harris and former President Donald Trump is expected to be similarly close, and both campaigns are doing whatever they can to improve turnout among bedrock supporters. “The race is now a turnout grab,” said Mike O’Neil, a non-partisan pollster based in Arizona. “The trendlines throughout have been remarkably steady. The question is which candidate is going to be able to turn out their voters in a race that seems to be destined to be decided by narrow margins.” Related Articles National News | Inside Colorado’s lesser-known Native American boarding schools that operated in metro Denver National News | New report identifies student deaths linked to Colorado’s Native American boarding schools: “No child should ever die at school” National News | New research IDs additional Native American boarding schools in Colorado used to assimilate Indigenous children National News | Scars of history, hope of healing: Fort Lewis College removes inaccurate depictions of its Indian boarding school past National News | Search for remains at Colorado’s Native American boarding schools to proceed slowly, respectfully Biden has been used sparingly on the campaign trail by Harris and other Democrats since he ended his reelection campaign in July. But analysts say Biden could help Harris in her appeal with Native American voters — a group that has trailed others in turnout rates. In 2020, there was a surge in voter turnout on some tribal land in Arizona as Biden beat Trump and became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1996. Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University, said both Harris’ and Trump’s campaigns — and their allies — have put a remarkable amount of effort into micro-targeting in Arizona. “They are pulling out every stop just to see if they could wrangle a few more votes here and there,” Reilly said. “The Indian community is one of those groups that Harris is hoping will overperform and help make the difference.” ___ Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, contributed to this report. Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.