Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Bryan Newland and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland at the Mille Lacs Community for "The Road to Healing Tour" on Saturday, June 3, 2023. (Photo/Darren Thompson for Native News Online)

MILLE LACS INDIAN RESERVATION — Tribal leaders and tribal citizens began arriving an hour before the start of seventh stop of “The Road to Healing” tour at the Mille Lacs Community Center in Onamia, Minnesota on Saturday, June 3, 2023.  The Road to Healing listening sessions was led by  U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) and Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Bay Mills Indian Community).

Haaland and Newland were joined by other Interior Department staff from Washington, D.C. as they listened intently to testimony made by Indian boarding schools survivors and descendants for several hours on Saturday.

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Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Photo by Levi Rickert)
 
Trauma-informed conselors were available on-site provided by support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Follow-up support will provided for survivors and their families, as requested.
 

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Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland (Photo by Levi Rickert)

Native News Online will publish a more complete story on Saturday’s testimony on Monday. 

Photos in gallery by Levi Rickert and Darren Thompson

Levi "Calm Before the Storm" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print/online...