Border family separations open old wounds

  • By ROSITA WORL
  • Tuesday, June 19, 2018 4:12pm
  • Opinion

I want to express my appreciation to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing the separation of families at the U.S. border and demanding an immediate halt to this “cruel, tragic” practice. I also want to recognize U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska for requesting a more deliberate bipartisan approach to this issue.

For me and for many, many other Alaska Natives, this issue is personal and resurrects old wounds. As Alaska Natives, we suffered the kidnapping of our children who were interned in boarding schools under the assimilationist policy of the United States. We as individuals and societies continue to suffer the intergenerational trauma from being separated from our families and raised in boarding schools.

When I was six, a missionary kidnapped me in Petersburg and took me to an orphanage in Haines, where I was kept for three years apart from my family. I know first-hand the despair felt by children longing for their loved ones and the terror of being a child alone. I feel my heart breaking all over again when I see children at the border suffering the same trauma today. It breaks my heart to hear their cries.

To the Trump administration, we implore you, we plead with you, to act immediately to stop this barbaric, inhumane act of separating children from their parents and guardians at the border. This practice is morally reprehensible and will become a repeat of previous horrific American Indian policies and practices to eradicate Native cultures. We are proud to be Americans, but this practice does not represent American values and ethics.

Rosita Kaaháni Worl, Ph.D.,

President, Sealaska Heritage Institute

More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

“I voted” stickers await voters on Election Day 2022. That election was the first regular general election in Alaska to include ranked choice voting, which was narrowly approved by voters in 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
My Turn: Not a failed election

A recent article in the Empire for Dec. 6 was titled “Failed… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter: Complaints about California’s RCV voting are misguided in Alaska

Last Wednesday’s editorial by Trent England and Jason Snead should have been… Continue reading

The LeConte ferry coated with cold-season ice. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Marine Highway System)
Opinion: How not to build a lasting legacy of failure

Last week the Federal Transit Administration announced it was awarding $131 million… Continue reading

Juneau Assembly members cast a 6-3 informal vote on Nov. 6 in favor of the city’s tourism director exploring a strategy for 2026 and beyond that results in fewer annual cruise visitors. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Assembly vote to reduce cruise ships risks sending taxes even higher

During a Nov. 6 Committee of the Whole meeting, Assembly members voted… Continue reading

A by-mail ballot asks voters in 2020 to approve a measure calling for rank choice voting, which was approved. A petition is now circulating calling for another ballot measure to repeal rank choice. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Failed election shows why Alaska should repeal ranked-choice voting

Most Americans just want elections where it’s easy to vote, hard to… Continue reading

Visitors take a selfie on the downtown cruise ship docks in July. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
My Turn: Know who you’re sitting with at the table

As a professional who has sat at many a negotiating table, I… Continue reading

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers remarks at the Rolling Back Regulations to Help All Americans event Thursday, July 16, 2020, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo | Joyce N. Boghosian)
Opinion: A constitutional defense of the administrative state

In the summer of 2020, then-Vice President Mike Pence told an audience… Continue reading

Most Read