Printer-friendly versionYou’re forgiven if you missed it.
Late last month, Congress passed and President Obama signed a bill that included text that “apologizes … to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States.” Not only was news of the measure knocked from front pages by the health care debate and Tiger Woods, it was well-camouflaged within the 2010 defense appropriations bill.
Still, it is the first official apology offered by the United States for the long-running persecution of the first Americans. It follows in the tradition of federal apologies to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II, and to Native Hawaiians for U.S. involvement in the 1893 overthrow of their monarchy.
Included in the non-binding, bipartisan resolution was an expression of regret for a policy that even fewer non-Native Americans are aware of: “the forcible removal of Native children from their families to faraway boarding schools where their Native practices and languages were degraded and forbidden.”
Beginning in the 1870s, the federally funded system of government and religious schools eventually grew to some 500 institutions. Their official policy was to promote assimilation and effectively extinguish the cultures of Native Americans. Many of these schools relied on a severe and often brutal program of military-style discipline and Christian indoctrination. U.S. officials forced more than 100,000 kids from their families, and many of them suffered years of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. If and when they returned home, they did so as strangers bearing Americanized names. Forced enrollment ended in the 1930s, and federal investigations and damning reports about the treatment of students brought greater scrutiny in the 1970s. Most of the schools were closed by the 1990s.
This official apology does not restore stolen lands or lives. Nor does it relieve the nightmares of mistreated boarding school alums. But it finally owns up to this country’s record of ill-conceived, bigoted, and often sadistic treatment of Native Americans. And perhaps, like any honorable apology should, it sets the stage for making amends.
Comments
For anyone looking for a
For anyone looking for a lesson plan on Indian boarding schools that will make this apology more meaningful for students, check out "The Spirit Survives: Indian Boarding Schools Then and Now," which features downloadable audio clips, available for free online from Race Bridges for Schools: http://www.racebridgesforschools.com/dovie_tracks/dovie.html. It is awesome.
Wow. Better late then never.
Wow. Better late then never. It's great to see some old fashioned respect and acknowledgement of our past.
Seems like a big
Seems like a big overstatement to say we're forgiven. Actions speak louder than words. What if our gov. put some money into improving conditions on reservations, allotted land and homes to families that live on reservations now, banned the use of Native American steriotypes in public schools for their mascots, funded educational programs on Native traditions in public schools...? From what I can see, the neglect and maltreatment continues in less obvious forms.
Clara, It's a start... Sunny
Clara,
It's a start...
Sunny
Personally this seems like a
Personally this seems like a start through there could be alot more done to make-up for all the've done, it will take alot more than an apology to be forgiven.
I am proud to be half native american
and i expect more than an apology
i expect something to be done
Osiyo! I too am part American
Osiyo! I too am part American Indian and very proud of my heritage. I agree with you; I expect more than just an apology because talk is cheap!
Wado
What suggestions do you have
What suggestions do you have about what could be done?
I am Native American, and I
I am Native American, and I appreciate the appology. It is all I need, because I know that I am blessed regardless of what my ancestors went through (which was a tragedy). I know that I am stronger because of my heritage. I appreciate the fact that my parents were able to be given an "Indian Home" where I grew up and that I had free healthcare and other benefits that others around me did not have. I accept the appology and will continue to be a proud Muscogee Creek.
As a result of the Indian
As a result of the Indian schools my mother was forced to attend she was not able to provide me with an Indian home. I wish that she could have, but it was literally beaten into her that she had to assimilate. Although the apology is late, I too hope that it will lead to more than just hope and nice words. It is time to honor our language, our culture, and our spiritual beliefs.
I totally agree with your
I totally agree with your view; very well spoken.
Hi - I was just going through
Hi - I was just going through the comments on this page, and read that you are Muskogee. I remember learning a tiny bit about the Muskogee many, many years ago (in the mid-60's, when I was growing up), and then -- nothing. Can you recommend a place (books? site? a group?) where I could get more information? Thank so much! Emily
I took the 'You're forgiven'
I took the 'You're forgiven' statement as 'for those of you who missed that this apology occurred, you're forgiven because it was not publicized'. I am so surprised that it happened and I never heard about it. I see it as a tiny and important first move that will hopefully begin a deeper healing journey for our country. Thank you for sharing this news, I plan to spread it far and wide so that more people can know that there is a doorway to move through, let more apologies flow and actions to go with them.
How ironic it takes a
How ironic it takes a minority president for an apology to come forth.
I'm really sorry this wasn't
I'm really sorry this wasn't more publicized, having just finished The Earth Shall Weep, a great history of Native Americans. I thought I knew so much already, hard to hear, but there are always more lessons to be learned from history. Historical amnesia condemns people to repeat these kind of mistakes in dealings with fellow human beings.
Most of the schools were
Most of the schools were clsed by the 1990s. Are there any that are still open?
Yes, Chemawa in Salem,
Yes, Chemawa in Salem, Oregon. Chemawaindianschool.org
Riverside Indian Boarding
Riverside Indian Boarding School is still open in Anadarko OK. It has a substantial Native American staff these days.
Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence KS, about 30 SW of suburban Overland Park in the Kansas City are was a notorious boarding school years ago. Over the years it has been transitioned into a 2 yr inter-tribal college, and is now a 4-yr university.
We are now carrying a newly-released Indian-produced video called "Our Spirits Don't Speak English" about the boarding school era.
St. Joseph's Indian School,
St. Joseph's Indian School, Chamberlain, S.D. is still open.
I am happy to hear that St.
I am happy to hear that St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain SoDak is still open. I attended school there when Brother Steve, Bonaventure, and Dennis was there. Those days will always remain memorable to me for as long as I live.
I agree that the Native
I agree that the Native Americans deserve an apology for the injustices they had to suffer. What happened to them on the Trail of Tears and others places was not right and long ever due. I has congress ever thought about apologizing to the African Americans who were brought to this country against their will. Congress has apologized to Japanese and now Native Americans. What about my people
What a waste of legislative
What a waste of legislative and executive time. Americans have been flogging themselves over this issue for well over 100 years; apologies have been extended in a thousand different forms at a thousand different times by millions of different people. No more prostrating ourselves is required; all a nation can be is just in its own time because it cannot undo the injustice of days past.
I think this is one of the
I think this is one of the more noble things Congress has ever wasted their time on. No, we cannot undo the injustices of our country's fore bearers, but we must acknowledge them. It is healthy to be remorseful for wrongs committed upon other beings, whether these wrongs belong to you or not. It is healthy to grieve the loss of entire cultures, even if you're not responsible for their loss. Healing cannot happen without these processes. And who says 100 years of apologies is enough to heal this country and our native people?
It is too little too late for
It is too little too late for an apology.
Mija "waste of time", it
Mija "waste of time", it seems inconsiderate to call a much deserved apology a waste of time.
Besides what is an apology goin to help, nothing.
Finally a US president has
Finally a US president has acknowledged the atrocities put upon the Native people in this land we now call the United States of America.
I am 2nd generation American & have always been angry with this country regarding the treatment of Native Americans.
How many US citizens realize that Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is nearly as poor as Haiti?
How many US citizens realize that most of the Native Americans who live on Reservations live in poverty?