State Rep. Tom Kuhn (R-Troy), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, this week held a hearing to examine why the Michigan Department of Civil Rights has declined to release a $1.1 million taxpayer-funded report on Native American boarding schools.

Over three years, the department studied Michigan’s connection to Native American boarding schools, a federal effort in which Native American children were taken from their families and forced to abandon their language, culture, and traditions. The schools were part of a national policy aimed at reshaping Native American children into mainstream American society, often through strict discipline and harsh conditions.

Testimony before the committee raised serious concerns about how the state managed the contract with Kauffman & Associates. According to those involved, expectations for the project were unclear, communication between the department and the contractor was lacking, and Michigan’s tribes were not brought into the process at the outset as required under Gretchen Whitmer’s 2019 Executive Directive. Instead, tribes were reportedly asked to review drafts only after substantial portions of the report had already been written.

“The state botched this contract from the beginning,” said Kuhn. “Expectations were unclear, communication broke down, and the administration failed to follow its own 2019 directive requiring tribal consultation at the start of the process. When the department received a report it didn’t like, it chose to withhold it and scapegoat the contractor instead of taking responsibility.”

Despite $1.1 million in taxpayer funding spent on the project, the department has said it will not release the report publicly, claiming the final version is not suitable for release. Meanwhile, the Attorney General has floated potential legal action related to the report’s outcome.

“It is unacceptable for the state to ignore its own directive, mishandle a contract, and then threaten lawsuits over an outcome the state itself largely caused,” said Kuhn. “Taxpayers deserve accountability, and our tribal partners deserve honesty and respect.”

The committee heard testimony from Jo Ann Kauffman, President and CEO of Kauffman & Associates, Sandra Witherspoon of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Winnay Wemigwase of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, and Rodney Loonsfoot of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

“The greatest tragedy in all of this is that Michigan’s tribes have been traumatized a second time,” said Kuhn. “Old wounds were reopened with the promise of truth and healing, only to be met with confusion, secrecy, and blame-shifting. If we are serious about reconciliation, we must start by being transparent, following through on our commitments, and working collaboratively with the tribes from the very beginning.”