Canadian Indigenous leaders say U.S. President Joe Biden’s apology for his country’s residential school system is only the first step toward healing generations of harm.

On Friday, Biden apologized for the U.S. boarding school system that for more than 150 years separated Indigenous children from their parents, calling it “one of the most consequential things” he’s done as president.

The apology comes 16 years after former Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for Canada’s residential school system.

In 2021, Haaland launched an investigation that found at least 973 Native American children died in the U.S. boarding school system, including from disease and abuse. On Friday, Biden acknowledged the true number is probably “much, much higher.”

Jewell said a belief in American exceptionalism could explain why the apology took so long. “I think U.S. political culture has a very unapologetic stance on its history,” she said.

“The impacts of these schools have affected generations,” Woodhouse Nepinak said in an emailed statement.

“This acknowledgment is important, but healing will take time. I urge President Biden, and the incoming president-elect after next month’s election, to engage meaningfully with Native American communities and ensure that this apology leads to real actions that address the harm caused.”