Governor Hochul and President J. Conrad Seneca Meet With Survivors and Those Still Impacted by Thomas Indian School’s Atrocities

Governor Hochul Tours Site of Former Thomas Indian School Where Seneca Nation’s Administration Offices Are Currently Located

Builds on Governor Hochul's Commitment to Supporting and Strengthening Relationships with Indigenous Peoples Across the State

View the Citation Acknowledging State’s Role and Issuing Formal Apology

Governor Kathy Hochul today visited the Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians to issue a formal apology for New York State’s role in the operation of the Thomas Indian School. Today’s visit fulfills a pledge she made to President J. Conrad Seneca during a visit Nation leaders made to Albany earlier this year. Governor Hochul met with President Seneca and other leaders of the Seneca Nation before sitting down with survivors and those families still impacted by the atrocities that occurred at the Thomas Indian School. The event took place on the site of the current Seneca Nation Administration Campus which used to house the Thomas Indian School.

“In order to move forward and avoid repeating the sins of the past, New York must acknowledge its role in the historical atrocities committed at the Thomas Indian School - and the enduring trauma that was inflicted upon the Senecas and all Indigenous peoples across New York,” Governor Hochul said. “Today, on behalf of the State of New York, I apologize to the Seneca Nation of Indians - and the survivors and descendants from all Nations – who attended the Thomas Indian School. We cannot change the horrors of the past, but I recommit to the truth, justice, reconciliation, accountability, and healing that are so essential to move forward together.”

Seneca Nation President J.C. Seneca said, “Today is an important reckoning with a very dark and tragic period in history. It is a day that many people thought would never happen. Healing takes time, but it also requires accountability for the pain that people caused. We still feel the pain. Now, with Governor Hochul’s words of apology, our healing process can continue.”

We cannot change the horrors of the past, but I recommit to the truth, justice, reconciliation, accountability, and healing that are so essential to move forward together.” - Governor Kathy Hochul

Originally established by Presbyterian missionaries on the Cattaraugus Territory in 1855, Thomas Indian School was owned and operated by the State of New York from 1875 until it closed in 1957. Thomas Indian School, and other residential boarding schools across the United States and Canada, operated under the government’s policy of forced assimilation of Native children.

At least 2,500 children from various Indigenous Nations were separated from their families and forced to attend the school. Children from the Seneca, Cayuga, Tuscarora, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, Poospatuck (Unkechaug), Shinnecock, and other Indigenous Nations passed through the doors of the school. Some of those children never returned home.They were stripped of the traditional language and culture, and suffered abuse, violence, hatred, and sometimes death, at the hands of school officials. Thousands of children are known to have died at the residential boarding schools. It is believed that the deaths of hundreds — if not thousands — more were never documented. The devastating impacts the boarding schools had on Native American families and communities, including the decimation of family structures and traditional language, are still keenly felt today.

Today’s visit is another example of Governor Hochul's commitment to supporting and strengthening relationships with Indigenous peoples across the state. As part of this commitment, Governor Hochul has:

• Convened leaders from the Indigenous Nations across New York State for a historic summit at the New York State Capitol in Albany.
• Appointed Elizabeth Rule as the State’s First Deputy Secretary for Indigenous Nations.
• Visited the Onondaga Nation Longhouse. Governor Kathy Hochul made a historic visit to the Onondaga Longhouse – the first visit by a sitting Governor in more than half a century – for a conversation with Onondaga Nation leaders, including Tadodaho Sid Hill, representatives of the Council of Chiefs, and Clan Mothers.
• Returned more than 1,000 Acres of Land to the Onondaga Nation. Governor Kathy Hochul, joined by United States Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Onondaga Nation Tadodaho Sidney Hill, announced a historic agreement as part of the Onondaga Lake Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program that will return more than 1,000 acres of scenic land to the Nation. As Natural Resource Trustees for the settlement with Honeywell International, Inc., the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service signed a resolution that directs Honeywell to transfer the title to more than 1,000 acres of open space in Central New York's Tully Valley to the Onondaga Nation - one of the largest returns of land by any state to an Indigenous nation.
• Proposed to strengthen the stability of Indigenous Families by directing Deputy Secretary Rule to advance, in consultation with Nation leadership and stakeholders, strategies to strengthen the objectives of the Indian Child Welfare Act, underscoring New York’s commitment to redressing injustices inflicted upon Indigenous communities.
• Ensured dental care access for Indigenous Nations including $2.5 million in funding for Indigenous Nations dental health care, with the aim of addressing gaps in access.
• Responded to offensive representations by commencing a comprehensive review of artistic representation of Indigenous peoples in the Capitol, with invited participation from representatives from each of the nine Indigenous Nations to ensure that all New Yorkers are welcomed in the State Capitol.