Unjust history of Native Americans must be acknowledged: China

ISTANBUL

In a broadside at Washington, China on Friday called for acknowledging the “unjust history of Native Americans.”

Beijing was reacting to a report by the US Department of the Interior which revealed that at least 973 Native American children had died in the US government’s abusive boarding school system.

“The unjust history of Native Americans must be acknowledged,” said Lin Jian, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry.

Washington’s global human rights “abuses must be addressed,” Lin added.

The probe by the US Department of the Interior found marked and unmarked graves at 65 of more than 400 US boarding schools.

Those schools were aimed at forcibly assimilating Native American children into white society.

Among the causes of death, the children suffered sickness and abuse during a 150-year period that ended in 1969.

“The US should learn from history, reflect on its actions, and resolve its own human rights violations and interference in other countries' internal affairs,” said Lin.