What Does it Acomplish for Government to Apolgize for the Misdeeds of Others Many Years Ago?

The government has issued an apology to Native Americans which it cannot even clarify. What does it mean? What good can it do? Is it meaningless?

Is this just more "feel good" policy coming out of a "feel good" administration?

Will it help one person of Native American ancestry? JC

CNSNews.com

Senate Committee Apologizes to All Native Americans for Violence and Maltreatment by U.S. Citizens
Monday, August 10, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) sponsored a resolution approved last week by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs apologizing to "native people" for the harm done to them by the U.S. government and U.S. citizens. (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passed a resolution by voice vote last week apologizing "on behalf of American people" to all Indian tribes for the mistreatment and violence by American citizens.

Senate Joint Resolution 14, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), states that its purpose is “to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the Federal Government regarding Indian Tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.”

In Section 1A, No. 4 of the resolution states that the apology is on behalf of U.S. citizens for harm they have done to “Native Peoples.” In the resolution, native peoples are defined as people who “inhabited the land of the present-day United States since time immemorial and for thousands of years before the arrival of people of European descent.”

“Apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States,” the resolution reads.

Requests by CNSNews.com for clarification of the language in the bill were not answered by Brownback’s office by press time, but Brownback issued a statement on Friday about the passage of his resolution.

“I am pleased that my colleagues have decided to move forward with a formal apology from the federal government to Native Americans," Brownback said. "This is a resolution of apology and reconciliation, and is a step toward healing divisive wounds.

“With this resolution we have the potential to start a new era of positive relations between tribal governments and the federal government,” Brownback said.

“For too much of our history, federal-tribal relations have been marked by broken treaties, mistreatment and dishonorable dealings. With this resolution, we can acknowledge past failures, express sincere regrets and establish a brighter future for all Americans,” he added.

Neither Brownback’s statement nor the resolution says whether the apology is on behalf of U.S. citizens who are alive today or U.S. citizens who lived in the past.

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=52254

© Janet Crain

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