With the reintroduction of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Act in Congress, take a moment to remind Congress of its responsibility to survivors of the Indian boarding school era.

The U.S. federal government has identified over 400 Indian boarding schools that operated from 1819 to 1969, nearly half of which were affiliated with or received support from a religious institution. “Residential or boarding schools inflicted trauma on Indigenous children that is still being felt today, generations later,” wrote the Rev. Wanda Frenchman, Interim Director, ELCA Indigenous Ministries & Tribal Relations.

Native American leaders have called on denominations to do the work of finding all records of their involvement. ELCA Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative efforts began in earnest in fall 2022. We have a timely opportunity to urge the United States to do the same.

Although long-overdue, successful passage of H.R.7325 / S. 761 will bring together the U.S. government and communities of faith, center the healing and truth-telling of Indigenous communities and move our country towards accountability.

Today, remaining boarding school survivors are elders. We must honor these experiences and urge Congress to move our country one step closer to truth and healing by supporting this important legislation now.

The Nevada Impact

Indian boarding school history is also Nevada history.

For nearly a century, the federal government operated the Stewart Indian School in Carson City. Open from 1890 to 1980, Stewart first brought children from Great Basin tribes, including Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone communities, into a system designed to separate Native children from their families, languages, cultures, and traditions. Students from more than 200 tribes across the West were eventually represented there. SHPO

This history is not distant or abstract. The Stewart campus remains in our community, and survivors, descendants, and Native neighbors continue to carry its generational effects.

The ELCA’s action alert urges Congress to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Act, H.R. 7325 and S. 761. For Nevada, this call is deeply personal. Truth-telling must include the stories of those affected by Stewart Indian School and the federal policies that sought to erase Indigenous identity.

As Lutherans, we also have a responsibility to examine the church’s role. The ELCA’s Truth-Seeking and Truth-Telling Initiative is working to uncover predecessor churches’ involvement in Indian boarding schools. Our faithful response begins with listening to Indigenous people, acknowledging harm, and supporting the steps they identify toward healing.

Here are three ways Nevada Lutherans can respond:

1. Contact Congress. Use the ELCA action alert to urge Nevada’s U.S. senators and your representative to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools Act. Personalize your message: explain why this history matters to you as a Nevadan and person of faith.
2. Learn locally. Visit the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum in Carson City, engage its resources, and bring a group from your congregation. Let the stories shared there shape your understanding rather than treating the site as a historical footnote. The museum was created with Stewart alumni, families, and Nevada tribal communities at the center. Stewart Indian School
3. Make listening an ongoing commitment. Build relationships with Nevada tribal nations, Indigenous-led ministries, and Native organizations. Follow their leadership, respect tribal sovereignty, and support their priorities beyond a single event, land acknowledgment, or observance.

We cannot undo this history. But we can help ensure it is heard, documented, and met with action. Truth and healing begin close to home.

Contact your lawmakers today. Customize your message with your experiences and values.

Find your Member of Congress Here

Senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, 202-224-3542, https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/

Senator Jackie Rosen, 202-224-6244, https://www.rosen.senate.gov/

Rep. Dina Titus, (202)-225-5965, https://titus.house.gov/

Rep. Mark Amodei, (202)-225-6155, https://amodei.house.gov/

Rep. Susie Lee, (202)-225-3252, https://susielee.house.gov/

Rep Steven Horsford, (202)-225-9894, https://horsford.house.gov/

If you would like to schedule time with your legislator, please reach out to Pastor Paul,and he is willing to work with ELCA Advocacy Partners to secure a time.

Act now!

Nevada’s public policy isn’t shaped only in the Governor’s Office or during the 120 days of the Nevada Legislature.

Across state government, appointed boards, commissions, councils and authorities help oversee programs, advise state agencies, regulate professions and make decisions affecting Nevada communities.

Here are some of the public bodies worth knowing, and why voting for Governor Matters.

Housing, Homelessness & Community

Advisory Committee on Housing

Housing affordability, development and housing policy remain major challenges across Nevada. This committee provides an important connection between housing stakeholders and state government.

Nevada Commission on Homelessness

Homelessness involves housing, health care, behavioral health, employment and human services. State coordination can determine whether Nevada responds primarily to homelessness as a public-order issue or invests in long-term housing and supportive services.

State Land Use Planning Advisory Council

Land-use decisions affect housing, transportation, public lands, water, economic development and the growth of Nevada communities.

Hunger, Poverty & Human Services

Council on Food Security

Food insecurity affects children, families, older adults and working Nevadans across the state. The council helps Nevada consider strategies for addressing hunger and improving access to nutritious food.

Nevada Commission on Aging

Nevada’s aging population faces challenges involving housing, health care, transportation, food security, caregiving and economic security.

Nevada Commission on Services for Persons with Disabilities

People with disabilities interact with housing, transportation, employment, education, health care and public-benefit systems.

Health Care & Human Dignity

State Board of Health

Public health decisions can affect communities throughout Nevada, including policies involving disease prevention, health standards and statewide health regulations.

Commission on Behavioral Health

Nevada continues to confront shortages and gaps in mental-health and substance-use services.

Children’s Behavioral Health Authority — Northern Nevada

Children and families in Northern Nevada face significant challenges accessing appropriate behavioral-health services.

Children’s Behavioral Health Authority — Southern Nevada

Southern Nevada’s rapidly growing population creates its own challenges for children’s behavioral-health services.

Maternal and Child Health Advisory Board

Maternal health, prenatal care, infant health and access to maternity services remain important Nevada policy concerns.

Advisory Committee on the State Program for Oral Health

Dental care is health care, yet cost and provider access can make oral-health services difficult to obtain.

Children, Families & Education

Statewide Independent Living Council

Independent living policies affect whether Nevadans with disabilities can live, work and participate fully in their communities.

Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council

Child care, early education, family supports and school readiness have consequences for children as well as Nevada’s workforce and economy.

Commission on Postsecondary Education

Education after high school includes universities, colleges, career training and other pathways that can significantly affect economic opportunity.

Economic Dignity & Workers

Governor’s Workforce Development Board

Workforce policy connects education, employers, workers and Nevada’s economic-development strategy.

Nevada Equal Rights Commission

The commission addresses discrimination in areas including employment and public accommodations.

Employee-Management Committee

Public employees provide many of the services Nevadans depend upon every day. State personnel policy affects those workers and the government’s ability to recruit and retain them.

Creation Care, Water & Public Lands

State Environmental Commission

Environmental regulations affect air, water, pollution, development and public health.

State Conservation Commission

Conservation decisions affect Nevada’s land, soil, water, agriculture and rural communities.

Advisory Board on Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor recreation intersects with conservation, public lands, tourism and economic development.

Colorado River Commission of Nevada

Few resources are more important to Nevada’s future than water and energy. Decisions involving the Colorado River affect millions of people throughout the Southwest.

Energy & Nevada’s Future

Governor’s Office of Energy — Advisory Bodies and Energy Planning

Nevada faces rapidly changing questions involving electricity demand, renewable energy, transmission, affordability and major energy users such as data centers.

Democracy, Ethics & Public Trust

Commission on Ethics

Public trust requires government officials to act in the public interest and follow Nevada’s ethics laws.

Commission on Judicial Selection

When vacancies occur on Nevada’s Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or district courts, the judicial-selection process helps determine who may be appointed to positions with enormous influence over Nevada law and the administration of justice.