Welcome Advocacy Corps! This year you will be working to organize your local communities to build support for a Truth and Healing Commission bill and to educate your legislators on the tragedy of Native Boarding Schools. Below are some of the most important documents and forms you will need throughout your ten-month program.
Understanding Native Boarding Schools
In the following sections you can find policy resources and a step-by-step guide to making a lobby visit happen. Ten months is a long time, and it’s helpful to have a refresher on the basic skills we learned in our August training.
Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act
- Truth and Healing Commission bill in the House (H.R. 5444) - bill text and cosponsors
- Truth and Healing Commission bill in the Senate (S. 2907) - bill text and list of cosponsors
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FCNL bill analysis (coming soon)
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House Natural Resources Committee - Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States webpage
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Bill introduction press release from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA)
What were Native American Boarding Schools?
- Boarding schools report documenting Native deaths, abuse and loss of culture is a good first step, advocates say (Alaska Public Media)
- The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
- Deb Haaland: My grandparents were stolen from their families as children. We must learn about this history. (The Washington Post)
- September 2021: FCNL Native American Legislative Update
- Department of the Interior Initiative information
Quaker Engagement with Boarding School Advocacy
- Quaker Statements on Indigenous Justice and Indian Boarding Schools
- Friends Journal: Quaker Indian Boarding Schools: Facing Our History and Ourselves
- Decolonizing Quakers
- Quakers Grapple with Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools (FCNL)
- Quaker Lobby Welcomes Long-Awaited Report on Indian Boarding Schools (FCNL)
- Quaker Lobby Backs Indian Boarding School Investigation Legislation (FCNL)
Other Resources
How do I prepare for a lobby visit?
1. Watch this 30 minute video training video from our national field organizer!
2. Read over this leave-behind. This document has the basic information on our ask for Congress.
3. Write your story! You can use this storytelling worksheet as a guide.
Find an example story here. Although this example is for another issue, you can hear the general structure and framing of a story.
4. Find contact information for the staffer you’d like to meet with, and send an email requesting a visit by telephone or video conference.
5. Make sure you’re caught up on basic background information related to this issue (See resources above.)
6. Structure your lobby visit with this roadmap.
Watch an example lobby visit here. Although this example is for another issue, you can hear the general structure and flow of a visit.
What Should I Do After My Lobby Visit?
1. Fill out the lobby report-back form. You can watch this video for more information about how to fill out the form.
2. Send a follow-up email to the staffer you met with.
2. Have any constituents that lobbied for the first time fill out this form.
Join our email list!
Quakers and Friends are changing public policy.