Originally called the Thomas Asylum for Orphan and Destitute Indian Children and later shortened to the Thomas Indian School, the institution was on the Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians, about an hour south of Buffalo.

The boarding residential school was part of the United States policy of forced assimilation for Native youth, to strip them of their culture and identities, to “kill the Indian, save the man.”

Saying sorry can never make up for the horrific acts committed against Native American children at boarding schools across our nation. But an apology is a start. Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an official apology on behalf of the State of New York on Tuesday morning at the William Seneca Building on Cattaraugus territory