Government Apology to American Indians revisited

Government Apology to American Indians revisited
Source: Cherokee One Feather Newspaper Cherokee, N.C.
Vol. 44 No. 18 Wed. May 13, 2009
By Scott MeKie BY.
One Feather staff
Who says there’s no bipartisanship in Washington these days? A Democratic Congressman from Oklahoma and a Republican Senator froth Kansas have both introduced legislation that wou grant a formal apology to American Indians from the federal gov ernment for ‘years of official depredations” and “ill-con ceived policies”
Congressman Dan Boren ( introduced N.J. Resolution 46 the same day Sen. Sam Brownback(R-1CS)
introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate. The Congressional Bill, which has 23 cosponsors, was efened to the House Committee on Natural Resources, and the Senate Bill, with nine cosponsors, was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Sen. Brown- back introduced similar legislation in 2004.
“The U.S. government broke hundreds of treaties it made with Indian nations; these were govermuent to-government treaties ratified by the U.S. Senate,” said Rep. Boren. “The impact of many U.S. policies is the source of many of the social and economic disparities that Tribes face today. It is time for our nation to face these injustices and reconcile our relations with the Native Americans.”
Sen. Brownb com mented, "The resolution seeks reconciliation and offers an official apology to Native peoples for the poor choices the federal government made in the past. I firmly believe that in order to move forward and have a true reconciliation, the federal government needs to formally apologize.”