President Joe Biden‘s apology on Friday to Native Americans didn’t go so smoothly.
Speaking at the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, Biden expressed remorse for a federal government policy that took thousands of Native American children from their parents and forced them into boarding schools for more than 150 years.
But the outgoing president, 81, misread the Gila River Indian Community’s name from his teleprompter.
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” he said after stumbling over the words.
Biden then appeared to reference former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the wife of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), in the past tense.
Biden’s speech was also interrupted by a pro-Palestinian, pro-Gaza protester. He encouraged the crowd to “let her talk.”
“There’s a lot of innocent people being killed. There’s a lot of innocent people being killed, and it has to stop,” he said.
The event itself was meant to right the wrongs from the past.
“The federal government has never, never formally apologized for what happened — until today,” Biden told the Native American audience. “I formally apologize as president of the United States of America for what we did. I formally apologize, and it’s long overdue.”
Near Phoenix, Biden underscored that it has been a decade since a sitting president has traveled to Indian country.
“That’s simply far too long,” he said. “That’s why I’m here today. Not only to fulfill my promise but, more importantly, to right a wrong. To chart a new path towards a better future for us all.”
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the department, launched an investigation into the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative shortly after she was confirmed by the Senate. At least 18,000 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children, some as young as 4 years of age, were taken from their parents and enrolled in the institutions from 1819 to the 1970s as part of an effort to assimilate them into white society. Almost a thousand died, and others experienced physical and emotional abuse, according to Haaland’s reports.
“It should be a shame, a chapter that most Americans don’t know about, the vast majority don’t even know about,” Biden said Friday, describing it as “a sin on our soul.” “I believe it’s very important that we do know there were generations of Native children stolen, taken away to places they didn’t know with people they never met who spoke a language they had never heard.”
“We’re a great nation,” he added. “We’re the greatest of nations. We do not erase history. We make history.”
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Haaland, who was at the event, became emotional when she addressed the crowd as she spoke about the investigation, her recommendations, and her “Road to Healing” program.
“Despite everything that has happened, we are still here,” she said. “We are here, healing our souls and carrying the strength of those who came before us.”