[Senate Hearing 109-97]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 109-97
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APOLOGY
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
S.J. RES. 15
TO ACKNOWLEDGE A LONG HISTORY OF OFFICIAL DEPREDATIONS AND ILL-
CONCEIVED POLICIES BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT REGARDING INDIAN TRIBES AND
OFFER AN APOLOGY TO ALL NATIVE PEOPLES ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES
__________
MAY 25, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
21-531 WASHINGTON : 2005
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, Chairman
BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota, Vice Chairman
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
GORDON SMITH, Oregon DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina
TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma
Jeanne Bumpus, Majority Staff Director
Sara G. Garland, Minority Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
S.J. Res. 15, text of............................................ 2
Statements:
Bigpond, Sr., Negiel, president, Two Rivers Native American
Training Center............................................ 15
Brownback, Hon. Sam, U.S. Senator from Kansas................ 8
Hall, Tex, president, National Congress of American Indians.. 11
McCain, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from Arizona, chairman,
Committee on Indian Affairs................................ 1
Thomas, Edward K., president, Central Council Tlingit and
Haida Tribes of Alaska..................................... 13
Appendix
Prepared statements:
Bigpond, Sr., Negiel......................................... 21
Hall, Tex.................................................... 26
Thomas, Edward K............................................. 27
Additional material submitted for the record:
Remarks of Kevin Gover at the Ceremony Acknowledging the
175th Anniversary of the BIA September 8, 2000............. 24
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APOLOGY
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m. in room
485, Senate Russell Building, Hon. John McCain (chairman of the
committee) presiding.
Present: Senators McCain and Dorgan.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN McCAIN, U.S. SENATOR FROM ARIZONA,
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
The Chairman. Today's hearing addresses S.J. Res. 15, a
joint resolution to acknowledge the contributions of Native
Americans to this country but also the long history of official
depredations and ill-conceived policies by the U.S. Government
regarding Indians.
The resolution apologizes to Native Peoples on behalf of
the United States. I commend Senator Brownback for introducing
the measure and I look forward to his testimony. I note that he
introduced an apology resolution in the last Congress. That
resolution, passed by unanimous consent of this committee with
an amendment in the nature of a substitute, was never acted on
by the full Senate.
S.J. Res. 15 apologizes for the several hundred years of
wrongs the Federal Government has perpetrated against Native
Americans. Reviewing the history of this Government's treatment
of Native peoples makes painfully obvious that the Government
has repeatedly broken its promises and caused great harm to the
Nation's original inhabitants.
While remembering our past wrongs is important, it is also
important that we answer those wrongs with vigorous actions and
policies that actively promote the well-being of Native
Americans today.
[Text of S.J. Res. 15 follows:]
The Chairman. I would like to mention that Senator Dorgan
is in the Energy Committee markup this morning and he will try
to get here as quickly as he can. He has an ethanol amendment.
I certainly hope that it fails.
I would like to welcome my friend, Senator Brownback and
note what is well known to all of his continued advocacy for
human rights throughout the world whether it be in South Dakota
or the Sudan. The fact he has introduced this resolution of
apology is only a graphic demonstration of the concern that
Senator Brownback has shown for all men and women throughout
the world and his dedication to human rights.
We are honored to have you this morning, Senator Brownback.
Please proceed as you see fit. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF HON. SAM BROWNBACK, U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS
Senator Brownback. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for holding this, to my knowledge, first ever
hearing on a topic of this nature, an official apology to the
Native Americans of the United States. I think it is an issue
that is very important to the long term health of the United
States and it is an issue that has lain unresolved for far too
long.
You will hear from several experts today about what happens
to a people group when a wrong has been committed and nothing
ever acknowledged and yet, years later it continues to fester
and remain in place. The issue is our Nation's relationship
with the Native peoples of this land and it goes that basic.
Every member of this committee is very familiar with the
legacy of the native tribes on our continent. We know that long
before 1776 and the establishment of the United States of
America, this land was inhabited by numerous nations. Like our
Nation, many of these peoples held a strong belief in the
Creator and maintained a powerful physical and spiritual
connection to the land itself. They sowed the land, tilled it,
journeyed it, and protected it.
My constituents in Kansas and myself have a similar
attachment to the land. Like many in my State, I was raised on
the land. I grew up farming it and caring for it. I, and many
in my State, established a connection to it. We care for our
Nation and the land of our forefathers so greatly that we, too,
are willing to serve and protect it, as faithful stewards of
the creation God has blessed us with. I believe without a doubt
that citizens across this Nation share in this sentiment and
know its unifying power. Americans have stood side-by-side for
centuries to defend and benefit this land we love.
Both the Founding Fathers of the United States and the
indigenous Tribes that lived here were attached to this land.
Both sought to steward and protect it. There were several
instances of collegiality and cooperation between our
forbearers that are well known, examples such as Jamestown, VA,
Plymouth, MA, and in aid to explorers Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark.
Yet, sadly, since the formation of the American Republic,
numerous conflicts have ensued between our Government and many
of these tribes, conflicts in which warriors on all sides
fought courageously and in which all sides suffered. Yet, even
from the earliest days of our Republic, there existed a
sentiment that honorable dealings and peaceful coexistence were
preferable to bloodshed. Indeed, our predecessors in Congress
in 1787 stated in the Northwest Ordinance, ``The utmost good
faith shall always be observed toward the Indians.''
Many treaties were made between this Republic and the
American Indian Tribes. I have read most of all those that were
entered between tribes that were in or moved to the State of
Kansas. Treaties, we know, are far more than words on a page.
Treaties are our word, our bond.
Treaties with other governments are not to be treated
lightly. Unfortunately, too often the United States of America
did not uphold its responsibilities as stated in its covenants
with the Native American tribes. Too often, Mr. Chairman, our
Government broke its oaths to the native peoples.
For too long, relations between the United States and the
native peoples of this land have been in disrepair. For too
much of our history, Federal-tribal relations have been marked
by broken treaties, mistreatment, and dishonorable dealings. I
believe it is time we worked to restore these relationships to
good health.
While we cannot erase the record of our past, I am
confident that we can acknowledge our past failures, express
sincere regrets, and work toward establishing a brighter future
for all Americans. It is in this spirit of hope for our land
that I have introduced S.J. Res. 15 to extend a formal apology
from the United States to tribal governments and native people
nationwide.
I want my fellow Senators to know that the resolution I
have introduced does not dismiss the valiance of our American
soldiers who fought bravely for their families in wars between
the United States and a number of the Indian tribes. Nor does
this resolution cast all the blame for the various battles on
one side or another.
What this resolution does do is recognize and honor the
importance of Native Americans to this land and to our Nation,
in the past and today, and offers an official apology to the
native peoples for the poor and painful choices our Government
sometimes made to disregard its solemn word.
Mr. Chairman, this is a resolution of apology and a
resolution of reconciliation. It is a first step toward healing
the wounds that have divided us for so long, a potential
foundation for a new era of positive relations between tribal
governments and the Federal Government. It is time, it is past
time, for us to heal our land of division, all divisions, and
bring us together as one people.
Before reconciliation, there must be recognition and
repentance. Before there is a durable relationship, there must
be understanding. This resolution will not authorize or serve
as a settlement of any claim against the United States, nor
will it resolve the many challenges still facing native
peoples. It does recognize the negative impact of numerous
deleterious Federal acts and policies on Native Americans and
their cultures. Moreover, it begins the effort of
reconciliation by recognizing past wrongs and repenting for
them.
As I close, allow me to commend President Bush for his
poignant words in Latvia earlier this month that I think bear
repeating and serve as a statement here. He said, ``The only
way we found to rise above the injustices of our history was to
reject segregation, to move beyond mere tolerance, and to
affirm the brotherhood of everyone in our land.'' I sincerely
hope we can affirm the brotherhood of this land between all
people groups, especially the Native people with whom the U.S.
Government has a special covenant relationship.
The United States is admired by many around the world as a
beacon of freedom and a respecter of human dignity. I hope we
can recognize our wrongs against our Native brothers and seek
healing.
Dr. Martin Luther King, a true reconciler, once said, ``The
end is reconciliation, the end is redemption, the end is the
creation of the beloved community.'' This resolution is not the
end, but, perhaps it signals the beginning of the end of
division and the faint first light and first fruits of the
creation of beloved community.
I worked with a number of people in the last Congress,
Senator Campbell, Senator Inouye, in crafting this apology
resolution. I also worked with a number of the tribal groups.
The resolution before us today, S.J. Res. 15, is identical to
the version that was approved unanimously by this committee
last year.
Before I leave, I would like to enter into the record,
remarks made by the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA]
on the 175th anniversary of the BIA, September 8, 2000,
acknowledging a number of the specific wrongs and saying there
were a number positive things that have been done but we also
must acknowledge this past. There was actually an apology
issued by the BIA to the native tribes. I would like to put
that into the record.
Senator McCain. Without objection.
[Referenced materials appears in appendix.]
Senator Brownback. I would finally note, Mr. Chairman, this
has been a long journey for me. It started when I was first
elected to the Senate and went to the tribes in the State of
Kansas to meet with them and at the Haskell Indian University
in Kansas to meet with people there.
There was a deep-rooted bitterness there. It was very
apparent. I said what is the source of this. The more I was
around the native people, their American experience and the
shared tragedies that were continually passed down from
generation to generation had built in a deep rooted bitterness
that needs to be resolved and needs to be dealt with.
This doesn't finish that off but it does start the process
and I think it is an extraordinarily important and necessary
step for us to heal the land. That is why I am so strongly in
favor and supportive of it.
I really appreciate you holding this first ever hearing.
You are very busy with a number of issues you could take up.
This is not an easy one, although I know the chairman doesn't
pick easy tasks as reflected this week. I can't think of a
better person for this to come before than yourself.
Thank you.
Senator McCain. Senator Brownback, I want to assure you
that we will mark up this resolution as quickly as possible.
Unless there is some objection of members of the committee, and
I don't know of any yet, and then maybe I can do what I can to
assist you to get some floor consideration of this issue. I
would be glad to support you in whatever way I can.
Thank you.
Senator Brownback. Thank you very much.
Senator McCain. Thank you, Senator Brownback.
Our next panel consist of Tex Hall, president, National
Congress of American Indians, who is an old friend of this
committee; Edward K. Thomas, president, Central Council Tlingit
and Haida Tribes of Alaska; and Negiel Bigpond, Sr., president,
Two Rivers Native American Training Center, Bixby, OK.
Dr. Bigpond, I was out at the University of Oklahoma and
spoke at their graduation last week. I was very pleased to see
that on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, there were a
lot of reminders of Native Americans and their contributions to
the State of Oklahoma. I was very impressed by that.
I am going to talk to the president of Arizona University
to see if we can't do a little better.
Tex, you are up first, given your 300th appearance before
this committee.
STATEMENT OF TEX HALL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN
INDIANS
Mr. Hall. Good morning. My name is Tex Hall, president of
the National Congress of American Indians and tribal chairman
of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes of North Dakota.
Before I begin, I want to briefly thank you for what I have
seen on television for the last month, the leadership that was
exhibited by you and I believe 14 members of the Senate that
helped preserve the Senate rules on filibustering for judicial
nominees. It took great leadership and I want to thank you in
public for that.
Senator McCain. Thank you, sir. I think my reward will be
in heaven. [Laughter.]
Mr. Hall. On behalf of NCAI we want to thank you for giving
us the opportunity to testify for support of S.J. Res. 15 which
would acknowledge the many misdeeds of the United States in its
interactions with Native Americans and recognizing and honoring
the importance of Native Americans to this land and to our
country in the past and today.
I also want to thank Senator Sam Brownback for his
leadership and for his commitment and diligence in introducing
this resolution, as well as Senators Boxer, Dodd, Inouye,
Dorgan, Cochran, and Akaka for cosponsoring this apology
resolution.
We all know of the atrocities wrought against native people
in the United States, the holocaust, the land theft, the forced
removals, the boarding school experience completely wiping out
the language and cultures of our native brothers and sisters,
the broken treaties, and the attempts to undermine our status
as sovereign nations.
Passage of the Apology Resolution would mark the Federal
Government's first effort to extend an official apology for the
years of wrongdoing in interactions with Indian tribes. It is a
long-time coming.
A similar Apology Resolution enumerating the various
wrongdoings of the U.S. Government in relation to the Native
Hawaiians and the Kingdom of Hawaii was passed and signed into
law by President Clinton in 1993. The Canadian Government
likewise apologized to its First peoples in 1998.
NCAI's leadership worked with Congressional leadership in
the last Congress to analyze the impact of this landmark
resolution which was first introduced in the 108th Congress by
Senator Brownback, for himself, Senator Ben Nighthorse
Campbell, and Senator Dan Inouye.
NCAI solicited responses from tribes to the proposed
language and facilitated discussions among tribal leadership
and Congress on this issue. Tribal leadership responses across
Indian country give us a variety of their comments to the
apology resolution. I would like to briefly share some of those
with you.
First, it is important to recognize the intensity of the
reaction of tribal leaders to the apology resolution which
demonstrates that the destructive policies addressed in this
resolution are not a fading distant past for Indian people.
They are present today and continue to be felt in very real
ways every day.
We continue to live with the legacy of the Federal
Government's misguided policies of the past as well as present
day policies that continue to undermine our ability to live as
robust, healthy self-determining people. Tribal leaders have
stressed that the apology must recognize contemporary and not
just historical problems in Indian-Federal Government
relations.
Many Government policies continue to reflect a reluctance
to truly recognize tribes as sovereign governments. For
example, tribes, unlike other governments, are limited in their
ability to raise money by issuing tax exempt bonds. Tribes are
also left out of the funds that the Federal Government has
directed to every State for homeland security.
Tribal law enforcement agencies do not have the
jurisdiction and resources they need to protect public safety
and recent Supreme Court decisions have blurred the lines of
jurisdiction at the borders between State and tribal lands.
Tribal leaders have commented that an apology may be the
first step in reconciliation between tribes and the U.S.
Government, but for this to be true, the apology must be more
than words on paper. There is a lot of unfinished business that
must be attended to before true reconciliation can be achieved.
As one tribal leader said, apologizing does not in any way wipe
the slate clean or let anyone off the hook.
I had the opportunity to testify before this committee on
the President's proposed fiscal year 2006 budget. I said at the
time, Indian people are deeply disappointed that the budget did
not support strong self-government and self-determination for
tribes.
There was drastic cuts to many of the programs vital to the
health and well being of our people, with health care and
medical assistance being sorely needed and under funded. These
programs are guaranteed to us, as we know, by solemn treaties
and tribes paid for these services by ceding approximately 3
billion acres of land to the United States.
A strong Federal commitment to make good on old promises to
provide resources for services, prevention programs and health
care are badly needed. To many an apology rings hollow when the
U.S. Government has continued to fail to fulfill these treat
promises. Only when coupled with a continued commitment to the
government-to-government relationship and Federal Indian
programs like health, education and housing can the apology
resolution truly begin to make a meaningful difference for
Indian tribes. Another tribal leader put the resolution to be
like apologizing for stepping on someone's foot while you
continue to stand on that foot.
The message we would like to leave you with today is that
we clearly support this historic resolution but we must also
recognize it is a first step toward reconciliation.
Native Americans have come through extraordinarily trying
times over the past two centuries, and we have emerged strong
and growing as a population. Native Americans are the fastest
growing segment of the population by percentage. However, we
have a long way to go.
An apology implies a recognition that an injustice occurred
and the importance of this recognition cannot be
underestimated. It also implies, however, that there is a will
to try to do something about the harms that are caused by that
injustice.
True healing must begin with a recognition of the harm, but
it cannot stop there. An apology cannot substitute for
upholding the hundreds of treaties made with Indian nations and
fully living up to the Federal trust responsibility. Tribal
leaders have cautioned that the apology will be meaningless if
it is not accompanied by actions that begin to correct the
wrongs of the past and the present. Indian sovereignty is still
under threat and Indian people are still being left behind in
this country.
We look forward to working with you as we move forward in
taking the next steps toward reconciliation and securing the
future for Indian peoples.
Thank you very much. I would be happy to answer any
questions.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Hall appears in appendix.]
Senator McCain. Thank you very much.
President Thomas, welcome.
STATEMENT OF EDWARD K. THOMAS, PRESIDENT, CENTRAL COUNCIL
TLINGIT AND HAIDA TRIBES OF ALASKA
Mr. Thomas. I am the president of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, Juneau, AK.
First, I want to thank you for this hearing and the
opportunity to provide my comments to this important issue. I
want to thank Senator Brownback for introducing the resolution
and also for his fine testimony here today.
I rose up in reluctant support of the resolution when it
first came about and then became somewhat concerned about it
moving forward because of the amount of time that it was taking
away from other issues mentioned in Tex Hall's presentation.
I want you to know that I understand the danger in stepping
forward in opposition to something that is proposed by
honorable people in this Congress. I do not wish to offend the
friends of Indian country who are in Congress; I do not want to
appear ungrateful for those good things done by Congress for
our people; and I don't want to jeopardize the efforts of those
who want to do things in a good way through this apology. I
don't want to give you the impression that we don't appreciate
all that is being done here today for Native Americans.
I do want you to know that my reservations about going
forth with an apology are real and some of the things Tex Hall
talked about are the basis of my concern, the relationships
between the United States and America's first citizens continue
to be very unsatisfactory. The trust relationship that this
Nation established over the years with Native Americans is
seriously weakened through the inadequate funding of social and
economic development programs as well as the under funding of
indirect costs.
All this happens notwithstanding many reports by government
agencies and private interests about the inadequacy of funding
to Native Americans and the damage that does to the people who
need that funding. All this happens, even though we worked very
hard with this committee and with yourself on language to make
sure that there was no theoretic under recovery of indirect
costs. You might recall a number of years ago when you were
chairing this committee, we worked on that language. It is in
law but yet there still is inadequate funding for indirect
costs. Things have deteriorated so much that it is a fact that
Federal prisoners get more health care funding per capita than
Native Americans at this point in time.
Another important thing that is happening is that the
sacred tribal sovereign powers and rights are deteriorating in
favor of State authorities at an alarming rate by uninformed
Federal courts. We have been working with members of Congress
and the Administration trying our best to introduce language
that would stop this erosion of tribal sovereign rights and
powers. Yet nothing seems to happen in that area.
I still don't understand what the big fear is. I know that
tribal governments are of no great threat to States and there
is much to be accomplished by preserving those sacred, tribal
sovereign powers and rights.
The government-to-government relationship between the
United States and Indian tribes has become meaningless or has
become a meaningless term. Both under the Democratic and
Republican Administrations we see very little consultation on
the development of Federal Indian policies and the Federal
Indian budgets. Right now, the consultation is somewhat limited
to a couple of representatives from each of the 12 BIA regions.
They bring us in and we talk about the budgets and really
nothing happens. No consultation happens in my part of the
country at all on any of these issues.
One example is the Interior Department dealing with the
issue of trust asset management. The Bell case exists because
somebody didn't do their job. Tribes have asked repeatedly that
the fixing of this problem not be at the expense of existing
tribal programs. Yet that is what is happening. Tribes have
asked repeatedly that the BIA organization not take place at
the expense of existing BIA budgets, yet that is what is
happening.
Another example I spoke of a bit earlier is the development
of budgets. I served on the National BIA Budget Advisory
Council. Tribal leaders came forth with much testimony sharing
with the Administration our priorities. When all was said and
done, the assistant secretary's priorities ended up in the
budgets, ours did not.
Not only that, some of our priorities were cut so that his
could be included in the budget. Some other very important
priorities such as education were also cut just so the former
assistant secretary's priorities could be in the budget. The
point is that after all the meetings and consultation, our
priorities went nowhere and the Administration put their own
priorities in place.
I also want to point out that I did have a longer list in
my written testimony that I provided for the record. If there
is no objection, I would like that put in the record.
Senator McCain. Without objection, it will be in the
record.
Mr. Thomas. In conclusion, I want to thank you very much
for this opportunity to speak on this very important
resolution. I hope that an apology will come forth somewhat
like Mr. Hall stated. Apologies are good; sincere apologies are
better. Apologies joined with positive action that corrects and
compensates for the problems and ills of the past are the best
apologies.
Thank you very much.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Thomas appears in appendix.]
Senator McCain. Thank you very much.
Dr. Bigpond.
STATEMENT OF NEGIEL BIGPOND, Sr., PRESIDENT, TWO RIVERS NATIVE
AMERICAN TRAINING CENTER
Mr. Bigpond. Thank you, Chairman.
I too want to thank the Senate Indian Affairs Committee for
allowing me to speak today. Although my testimony will last
more than 5 minutes, I will keep it at that time.
I was born November 7, 1949, in Oklahoma and am a full
blood member of the Euchee [Yucci] tribe which was adopted into
the Creek Nation. I am a descendant of Noah Gregory, peace
chief of the Euchee Nation. I grew up in Okmulgee, OK and
attended the Chilocco Indian Boarding School where I and many
other native children were emotionally and physically abused.
I am a business owner, and also a fourth generation
minister from Methodist lineage to native people in 158 tribes,
and to many non-native congregations. I held the position of
Human Services Director for the Creek Nation for 7 years, and
am a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor. Along with Jay
Swallow, Southern Cheyenne/Sioux, I co-founded the Two Rivers
Native American Training Center in Mounds, Oklahoma.
In the beginning of my work on this Joint Resolution of
Apology and hoped-for proclamation by President George W. Bush
started in July of 1997 in Oklahoma. During a conference a
group of non-native individuals began to apologize to Dr. Jay
Swallow and myself. This set off a major reconciliation move in
Oklahoma which is still continuing.
This vast and great land now called America is troubled and
filled with brokenness and disorders of many kinds, high rates
of crime, violence and murder, a divorce rate at 50 percent of
all marriages, broken families, middle class people struggling
to make ends meet even in a ``good'' economic time, widespread
depression, suicide now the third greatest cause of death among
all teenagers, rampant substance abuse and addiction, and more
men and women in prison than in any other western nation.
Racism and ethnic troubles abound. Many youth sit ``homeless''
as both parents work long hours. New and deadly types of
disease are entering society. Death waits at our door
seemingly.
I believe that acknowledging past atrocities and asking the
indigenous ``first nations'' people of this land for
forgiveness is needed as a ``first step'' for a healing of the
land now called America to be released. This will be a healing
not just for Native American people, but all the people of this
land, black, white, Hispanic and Asian, all ethnic groups. Many
ethnic and immigrant backgrounds have been involved since the
``first contact'' by Columbus and others.
In my many travels around the world, I have met many people
and they now the plight of the Native American people and have
studied the treatment of the native people by the Federal
Government. It is my belief that they use this broken history
as fuel to develop hatred toward America. Together, our purpose
must be to heal the land and to remove the heaviness which I am
sure that this Senate knows and deals with on a daily basis.
The weight of the loss of millions of native indigenous people,
of our painful broken history, and the dishonor and disorder is
great.
All of our peoples are in great need of healing, especially
as we are going through so much, in war, not just overseas, but
here on the home front. Hatred and terrorism stare at us. We
live in a time of great fear. Fear always leads to anger,
hatred and strife. This anxiety streams into all of our homes,
Native and non-Native alike.
Members of the human family are not just mind and body.
They are spirit. Each man, woman and child, we all now this is
our heart. Regardless of what we each think or believe, just as
our warriors our soldiers who are facing death today on the
battlefield in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other places and the
spirit of a person and of a people can be wounded and crushed.
Apology, the exchange of forgiveness and a show of respect
and honor always brings a fresh freedom to our spirits, our
minds, our bodies. Apology and reconciliation is good medicine
to the heart of a person or a nation. America needs this heart
medicine and spiritual healing. The broken promises and history
of all our peoples needs healing.
Why, some of you ask and say that apology is unnecessary
because the Native people have always been a part of this
government. No, this government has never made treaties in the
name of ``In God We Trust'' with any other people group in the
country. It has never taken place before and broken them all,
372 treaties with the Native people, all broken. There has been
no public apology to this day. No U.S. President has sought
forgiveness. Only a few have made private statements. You
members of the U.S. Senate are taking a historical step
forward.
Our native soldiers have always courageously fought for
this country in every war because they are warriors. They know
how to survive regardless of broken treaties, regardless of the
Third World conditions on our reservations. They survive.
Senator McCain. Dr. Bigpond, you will have to summarize at
this point. I would appreciate it.
Mr. Bigpond. I just want to say, Mr. Chairman, because God
created us to the people of the land who express gratitude and
deserve to live in harmony and respect with this Earth, we have
much to share. We must remember this will be history making and
this will change our land, it will change everything.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Bigpond appears in appendix.]
Senator McCain. Thank you very much, Dr. Bigpond.
President Thomas, the Congress of the United States years
ago passed an apology in 1988 and apologized for the relocation
and internment of Japanese Americans. One of the effects I saw
associated with that resolution was a renewed publicity and
interest of the American people about this terrible injustice
that was done to Japanese Americans.
I believe that it is very likely that an apology to Native
Americans could have the same effect because I am always
astonished and disappointed when I find out how little
Americans in general and even Federal officials in particular
know about the history of our relationship with Native
Americans, the treaties that we entered, the ones we broke,
virtually all of them, and the unique requirements of our
Constitution as well as solemn treaty obligations.
One of the beneficial effects in my view of a Resolution of
Apology by both Houses of Congress, signed by the President of
the United States, might shed more light and knowledge
throughout America about the history of our relationship with
Native Americans. Do you accept that theory?
Mr. Thomas. Without objection, Mr. Chairman, I move and ask
unanimous consent that the bill be amended to include that
language. What I am saying here is that the apology given by
the Assistant Secretary in 2000 did not change even his own
behavior toward Native Americans.
Senator McCain. I think it is a very different thing, with
all due respect, to an Assistant Secretary as opposed to a
resolution signed by the President of the United States but
please proceed.
Mr. Thomas. Yes; that was what I was leading into. We even
tried during that period of time to get the President or even
the Secretary of the Interior to join the effort and went no
where. Very little has changed as a result of that.
The reason I was making that amendment is because if we
were to include language that we are going to educate members
of Congress and the public on these atrocities, yes, it will
work but if we just pass resolutions with those of us in the
room here, I believe it will be the same old thing.
Senator McCain. One thing I can assure you, knowing Senator
Brownback, if this resolution were passed by the Congress of
the United States, it would not fade into obscurity very soon.
Chairman Hall, would you care to comment on my comment and
then Dr. Bigpond?
Mr. Hall. I certainly agree with your statements, Mr.
Chairman. This is truly historic. I never thought in my
lifetime I would be testifying on behalf of a formal apology
from the United States of the wrongdoings. As my fellow tribal
leaders were testifying I was listening to their testimony and
you are absolutely right. When you think of the past and the
wrongdoings and you do an apology for those wrongdoings, it
sheds light and the light has not been shed that an apology
would be passed by the U.S. Senate and clearly would bring us
an opportunity.
I was just side-barring with Senator Brownback before the
committee began and we talked about the Sand Creek. The Sand
Creek is real, the Wounded Knee is real, the Trail of Tears,
those are real. The various boarding school experiences where
my own father was punished. This was not 200 years ago, it was
one generation ago. Those are real places to visit after
hopefully this resolution does pass and would clearly bring an
opportunity for tribal leaders to join with members like
Senator Sam Brownback and other Senate leaders of this apology
resolution to shed the light and bring the focus and continue
to help educate, inform and move things forward in a more
positive manner than ever before. I certainly agree with that
notion.
Senator McCain. Could I add, I can't tell you the number of
times constituents of mine have said, why don't we tax these
Indian tribes, why do we allow them to have their own police
force? These are not bad people. I don't detect in at least the
overwhelming majority of them any racism. It is just lack of
knowledge about solemn treaties that were entered into that
guaranteed an exchange and nobody believes that it was a good
deal, an exchange for vast lands that we would complete some
obligations.
I am worried about Indian gaming but at the same time, I
don't know any other way. I am worried about some of the things
that are happening with Indian gaming, how big it has gotten.
We are having a series of hearings on this but I don't know, if
I thought the Federal Government was fulfilling its
responsibilities for housing, education, health care, et
cetera, I would have a very different view.
I am spinning off here but we want to make sure we do
everything we can do to share the wealth on that issue and I am
sure we will discuss that at another date.
Dr. Bigpond.
Mr. Bigpond. I also agree, Mr. Chairman. We have to look at
this as the first step. This is history making. I know Edward
Thomas' reasons are very real, there is no doubt about that. I
understand that and applaud him, but this is the first step to
many things. This is history making.
My hope is that the President of the United States will
stand before all the chiefs, all the tribes and say, can you
forgive our Government, our forefathers for how we treated you
and how other countries would look at the United States of
America in a totally different way. They no longer could use
that as an asset or something to fuel their hate toward this
great country.
I would just say to the Senate, they must look at the
native people as the first Nation. We are a spiritual people,
we are land people. We have authority over the land. It is
always ours to us whether it was ceded or taken, whatever, it
has always been our love.
When that apology is made, it gives the authority to move
forward, not go backward. Our language is a song they sang on
the Trail of Tears, always go forward, never look back as they
were leaving their homeland and coming to Oklahoma.
I agree and I appreciate that very much.
Senator McCain. President Thomas, have you still got your
villages collapsing into the ocean because of the melting of
the permafrost?
Mr. Thomas. Yes; very much so.
Senator McCain. I want you to collar Senator Brownback on
his way out and tell him about climate change, would you?
Thank you for coming, Sam.
Mr. Thomas. Just another example, though, we had good
momentum going on getting rid of what is called the honey
bucket situation in Alaska and all of a sudden now because of
the Park program that was in the agency that provided the
funding, our funding got cut not because the people didn't need
the sanitation facilities but because the agency itself was not
adequate. The same is happening with the BIA programs. The
inadequate management or non-responsible management, we are
going to get punished for that even though we at the tribal
level feel we have excellent management.
Senator McCain. I thank the witnesses and I intend to move
forward with consideration by the full committee on this
resolution very soon. Thank you.
The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
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A P P E N D I X
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Additional Material Submitted for the Record
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Prepared Statement of Negiel Bigpond, Sr.
I was born November 7, 1949, in Oklahoma and am a full blood member
of the Euchee [Yucci] Tribe which was adopted into the Creek Nation. I
am a descendant of Noah Gregory, peace chief of the Euchee Nation. I
grew up in Okmulgee, OK and attended the Chilocco Indian Boarding
School where I and many other native children were emotionally and
physically abused. I am a business owner, and also a fourth generation
minister from Methodist lineage to native people in 158 tribes, and to
many non-native congregations. I held the position of human services
director for the Creek Nation for 7 years, and am a certified drug and
alcohol abuse counselor. Along with Dr. Jay Swallow [Southern Cheyenne/
Sioux], I co-founded the Two Rivers Native American Training Center in
Mounds, OK.
The beginning of my work on this Joint Resolution of Apology and
hoped-for proclamation by President George W. Bush started in July 1997
in Oklahoma. During a conference a group of non-native individuals
began to apologize to Dr. Jay Swallow and myself. This set off a major
reconciliation move in Oklahoma which is still continuing.
This vast and great land now called America is troubled and filled
with brokenness and disorders of many kinds--high rates of crime,
violence and murder, a divorce rate at 50 percent of all marriages,
broken families, middle class people struggling to make ends meet even
in a ``good'' economic time, widespread depression, suicide now the
third greatest cause of death among all teenagers, rampant substance
abuse and addiction, and more men and women in prison than in any other
western nation. Racism and ethnic troubles abound. Many youth sit
``homeless'' as both parents work long hours. New and deadly types of
disease are entering society. Death waits at our door.
I believe that acknowledging past atrocities and asking the
indigenous ``first nations'' people of this land for forgiveness is
needed as a ``first step'' for a healing of the land now called America
to be released. This will be a healing not just for Native American
people, but all the people of this land--Black, white, Hispanic and
Asian--all ethnic groups. Many ethnic and immigrant backgrounds have
been involved since the ``first contact'' by Columbus and others.
My international travels have shown me that many countries know the
story of the Native American people and have studied the treatment of
the Native People by the Federal Government. Some are now using our
broken history as fuel to develop hatred toward America.
Together, our purpose must be to heal the land and to remove the
heaviness which I am sure that this Senate knows and deals with on a
daily basis. The weight of the loss of millions of Native indigenous
people, of our painful broken history, and the dishonor and disorder is
great.
All of our peoples are in great need of healing, especially as we
are going through so much, in war, not just overseas, but here on the
home front. Hatred and terrorism stare at us. We live in a time of
great fear. Fear always leads to anger, hatred and strife. This anxiety
streams into all of our homes, Native and non-native alike.
In Native homes many of our children literally fight for life every
day. With unemployment, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide and
accident rates very high, many homes have no mothers, or no fathers.
Some might be physically there, but the love is not there, so the
children turn to whatever is there for identity and release--false
freedom. My people, our tribes, and our entire nation needs release and
healing--true freedom.
While the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been a good help along the
way, it has been an incomplete help. The Bureau is not authorized to
issue the type of resolution and bring about the reconciliation now
under consideration.
Members of the human family are not just mind and body. There is a
spirit in each man, woman and child. We all know this in our hearts
regardless of what we each think or believe. Just ask our warriors, our
soldiers who are facing death today on the battlefields in Afghanistan,
Iraq and many other places. And, the spirit of a person and of a people
can be wounded and crushed.
Apology, the exchange of forgiveness, and a show of respect and
honor always brings a fresh freedom to our spirits, our minds, and our
bodies. Apology and reconciliation is good medicine to the heart of a
person or a nation. America needs this heart medicine and spirit
healing. The broken promises and history of all of our peoples needs
healing.
Why? some of you ask, and say that apology is unnecessary because
``the native people have been always been a part of this government.''
No, this government has never made treaties in the name of ``In God We
Trust'' with any other people group in this country and then broken
them all--372 treaties with the Native Peoples--all broken! There has
been no public apology to this day. No U.S. President has sought
forgiveness. Only a few have even made private statements. You, members
of the U.S. Senate, are taking a historic step forward.
Though Native soldiers have always courageously fought in above
average ratios in the wars to defend this country and freedom--as is
true in Iraq right now--this is not recognized. We are taken for
granted. Evidence of the overall disregard and respect for Native
Peoples is seen in the fact that we were not even granted U.S.
citizenship until 1924. There has been no apology for this long-term
rejection and dishonor. Our children know and feel this dishonor.
Rejection causes sickness. Internal generational pain prompts mental
disorder and causes the body to break down. There are unresolved root
causes behind the sadness, the depression, the rampant diabetes,
alcoholism and drugs and suicide. I know this as I pastor and look into
the eyes of friends dying of diabetes.
The generational rejection we are suffering kills. On some
reservations there are six or more suicides a month. Over the last
decade an entire generation of young people was sacrificed to an
epidemic of suicide on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.
The poverty on some reservations is worse than in your inner cities. It
is the hidden poverty that most in this Nation know nothing about, nor
do they care to. The poverty twists your thinking. Joy drains away, and
you lose hope and heart. The pain is so great that it deceives. Native
teenagers begin to give up and start thinking that suicide is good,
that ending their own life will help the family. Life expectancy on
some reservations is as low as 40-45 years in some cases--this is in
affluent America today! But many Native people are hidden away, and few
see or care to see, and to know.
Many in the past, and many today still wish we would have been
annihilated, and that we will yet die off. We were given diseased
blankets on purpose, and many froze and died along the forced march on
our Trail of Tears. Certainly the sometimes calculated decimation of
the Native American peoples from upwards of 12 million to less than 4
million must be considered genocidal in nature? And, as in the Crusades
and Jewish holocaust, many of the atrocities, massacres and forced
removals came in the name of Christianity.
Col. John Chivington who led the Sand Creek massacre on the morning
of November 29, 1864 was a Methodist preacher. U.S. Lieutenant James
Connor and other of Chivington's ``Christian'' soldiers have written
eye witness accounts of how our pregnant women were disemboweled and
mutilated, and how their private parts were cut out and proudly
displayed as ``war trophies.'' This slaughter at Sand Creek, and others
like it happened just days after Chief Black Kettle had met with white
leaders and ``made peace'' and was told to just raise the U.S. flag and
everything would be all right. Black Kettle gathered and tried to calm
his people and raised the flag, and then the hail of bullets began and
lasted all day. Few escaped, and most all that did were attacked again
by ``Christian'' militia 4 years later at the Washita River massacre
and finished off. Dr. Jay Swallow, my Southern Cheyenne/Sioux brother
and co-founder of the Two Rivers Native American Training Center, is a
direct descendant of the Sand Creek Massacre. His grandmother was one
of the very few who escaped. She was a little girl and was hidden under
a pile of wood. She survived the long day of slaughter and told her
grandson. Dr. Swallow is another witness that can speak of the deep
generational pain that Native people still carry from the days of
massacre and suffering.
Yes, our besieged Native people retaliated. Yes, there were
atrocities on both sides. We are strong warriors, but you know how it
is recorded that many of our Chiefs first welcomed you in peace. We
also said that we would study you and see how your ``message'' made you
live.
The Bible your forbearers carried to us teaches that Satan, the
fallen one, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That Jesus of Nazareth
who died on the Cross, once for the forgiveness of all men and women,
comes to bring life and blessing, and to share it abundantly. So, many
Native people remain confused by Christianity, and by the
``Christians'' who came and took and ``settled'' our lands, and drove
us away. We now call this wrong spirit ``bad Christianity.'' It should
not be surprising that most Native people still reject the ``white
man's God,'' and that many have returned to traditional Native
religious practices. Some of us know that the Bible is the Word of Life
from our Creator Father, and personally know Jesus Christ as Messiah
and Lord, and are sorry for how many of our people cannot see Jesus and
have rejected Him. By walking in ways of reconciliation and respect we
are reintroducing Jesus and ``good Christianity'' to our Native people.
The Bible is true, even if the spirit and past ways of many
``Christians'' was not right.
The truth remains that our Native people were not received and
affirmed and released. I know this from many years of personal
experience, from my work with Native people in 158 tribes, in many
prisons, as a alcohol and drug abuse counselor, and as I pastor and try
to build strong faith and repair families in my churches.
I know this from the humiliation and degradation I endured as a boy
in the Chilocco Indian Boarding School. When I first arrived I was
excited and happy to see so many young Natives in one place, with
different languages and traditions, yet how we talked and laughed and
built good relationships. Then we were forbidden to speak in our
languages, had all of our hair cutoff into the ``G.I.'' haircut, and
the school took on a military and prison atmosphere. I was made to stay
in an old dorm hut with broken windows. I knew very cold winters and
very hot summers there. We got poorer and began to fight and steal from
one another--the government gave clothes to some tribes, and not to
others, so jealousy and envy entered in, and were turned against one
another. Some fought and others withdrew into isolation.
We would try to stop the anger and bad feelings by drinking, or by
sniffing glue, paint, or lighter fluid. If caught drinking or speaking
our tribal languages or practicing our cultural traditions our
privileges and even food were taken away. At times we were put on bread
and water. Sometimes we were given a bit of cheese with the bread and
water. We were put into solitary confinement and punished. I can
remember one night I had to defend myself from one of the counselors
who was trying to provoke me and start trouble so he could give me
hours of work duty, or to make me stand all night in a corner, or on
top of a one foot by one foot box with my nose to the wall. If we were
caught sleeping, guards would walk up behind us and bang our heads into
the wall. I received many bloody noses and cuts on my forehead. We were
also made to scrub floors and walls with small hand brushes and even
toothbrushes.
The emotional and mental abuse was very bad. We were made to feel
that we were nothing. We were called ``dogs'' and ``stupid'' and
``Indian'' in an angry, degrading, and mocking voice. There was sexual
abuse as well that I would rather not talk about. I choose not to go
into the details of all that happened there. When released and I
returned home I would cry a lot. I developed resentments toward my
parents and turned against authority. I could not trust authority. I
could not adapt to public school. Many teachers treated Native and
white students differently. I fought with white students who thought
and acted like they were better than me. I got into trouble.
I did go back to the school site in my later years after coming to
a personal faith in Christ, getting reconciled with my parents. Some
praying people came with me and helped me work through the issues and
hurts and come into inner spiritual healing-reconciliation and healing
is a process.
Please know that we can forgive, if asked. For The Indian Removal
Act and the Trail of Tears, we can forgive, if asked. For the Sand
Creek and other massacres, we can forgive, if asked. For the Indian
School degradation and injustice, we can forgive, if asked.
Because God created us to be people of the land, who express
gratitude and desire to live in harmony and respect with the earth, we
have much to share and a great role to play in the healing of this
Nation. We were 500 nations, and our Iroquois and other confederacies
were examples that Benjamin Franklin and other of your founding fathers
studied. The word ``caucus'' springs from the manner of Native tribal
government. Then, as now, it is good to sit together and peacefully
seek for wisdom, sound counsel and direction to move forward.
I know it takes one who is strong to ask for forgiveness,
especially if they feel they had nothing personally to do with past
injustices. But now, as you draw from your authority, strength and
courage, together we will change the history of the human family, and
help heal all brothers and sisters--from here in Washington out across
the whole of this continent.
To apologize and give honor where honor is due will displace the
brokenness and blood guiltiness that is still crying out for justice.
Respect and mutual regard will again flow between us, from one
honorable nation to another. Our Native people are ready for this and
desire this, but they just don't trust in this because of the past
history. But if they are shown and taken on this ``first step,'' then
they will be able to believe again and will trust again.
Just imagine what the people of the world would think, say, and
do--if they saw this reconciliation take place. What would happen if
the President who represents all the people of this Nation would stand
and ask a people who will not go away and who has not forgotten, and
who cannot forget--``Can and would you forgive this Nation for the
wrongs our forefathers did to your people?'' This is honorable and will
return honor. The nations of the world would then have to look at the
United States of America in a whole different way, in a new light. It
will be a new day. I know healing and turning history is very difficult
for some, but not impossible.
Imagine a U.S. President standing before the great Native Nations
of over 600 different tribes and saying, ``We the people of the United
States of America ask for your forgiveness--for the broken treaties,
the massacres, and the forced removal of peoples from their lands--for
forgiveness of these things that history records and tells us took
place, so that we all might now live as One Nation Under God!'' This
will stir this world. Nothing like this has ever taken place in history
with the force and reconciling impact over a nation as this will have.
While reconciliation is a spiritual walk, it also releases mental
and physical results--real changes that all are able to see. Healing of
the heart and times of refreshing will come. Before my mother died she
called me to her side and said in our Euchee tongue: ``Nean-zo-d-towel-
ute.'' This means: ``You are like a river and without you I cannot
exist.'' That is a picture of covenant life together. It is time to be
the One Covenant Nation of many peoples our Creator desires. We must go
forward and not look back again. Together, let us take this first step.
This Resolution of Apology gives us ground to walk forward on.
I respectfully submit this for the good of all our peoples--and for
the healing of this whole land now called America.
______
Remarks of Kevin Gover at the Ceremony Acknowledging the 175th
Anniversary of the BIA September 8, 2000
In March of 1824, President James Monroe established the Office of
Indian Affairs in the Department of War. Its mission was to conduct the
Nation's business with regard to Indian affairs. We have come together
today to mark the first 175 years of the institution now known as the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
It is appropriate that we do so in the first year of a new century
and a new millennium, a time when our leaders are reflecting on what
lies ahead and preparing for those challenges. Before looking ahead,
though, this institution must first look back and reflect on what it
has wrought and, by doing so, come to know that this is no occasion for
celebration; rather it is time for reflection and contemplation, a time
for sorrowful truths to be spoken, a time for contrition.
We must first reconcile ourselves to the fact that the works of
this agency have at various times profoundly harmed the communities it
was meant to serve. From the very beginning, the Office of Indian
Affairs was an instrument by which the United States enforced its
ambition against the Indian nations and Indian people who stood in its
path. And so, the first mission of this institution was to execute the
removal of the southeastern tribal nations. By threat, deceit, and
force, these great tribal nations were made to march 1,000 miles to the
west, leaving thousands of their old, their young, and their infirm in
hasty graves along the Trail of Tears.
As the Nation looked to the West for more land, this agency
participated in the ethnic cleansing that befell the western tribes.
War necessarily begets tragedy; the war for the West was no exception.
Yet, in these more enlightened times, it must be acknowledged that the
deliberate spread of disease, the decimation of the mighty bison herds,
the use of the poison alcohol to destroy mind and body, and the
cowardly killing of women and children made for tragedy on a scale so
ghastly that it cannot be dismissed as merely the inevitable
consequence of the clash of competing ways of life. This agency and the
good people in it failed in the mission to prevent the devastation. And
so great nations of patriot warriors fell. We will never push aside the
memory of unnecessary and violent death at places such as Sand Creek,
the banks of the Washita River, and Wounded Knee.
Nor did the consequences of war have to include the futile and
destructive efforts to annihilate Indian cultures. After the
devastation of tribal economies and the deliberate creation of tribal
dependence on the services provided by this agency, this agency set out
to destroy all things Indian.
This agency forbade the speaking of Indian languages, prohibited
the conduct of traditional religious activities, outlawed traditional
government, and made Indian people ashamed of who they were. Worst of
all, the Bureau of Indian Affairs committed these acts against the
children entrusted to its boarding schools, brutalizing them
emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Even in this
era of self-determination, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs is at long
last serving as an advocate for Indian people in an atmosphere of
mutual respect, the legacy of these misdeeds haunts us. The trauma of
shame, fear, and anger has passed from one generation to the next, and
manifests itself in the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic
violence that plague Indian country. Many of our people live lives of
unrelenting tragedy as Indian families suffer the ruin of lives by
alcoholism, suicides made of shame and despair, and violent death at
the hands of one another. So many of the maladies suffered today in
Indian country result from the failures of this agency. Poverty,
ignorance, and disease have been the product of this agency's work.
And so today I stand before you as the leader of an institution
that in the past has committed acts so terrible that they infect,
diminish, and destroy the lives of Indian people decades later,
generations later. These things occurred despite the efforts of many
good people with good hearts who sought to prevent them. These wrongs
must be acknowledged if the healing is to begin.
I do not speak today for the United States. That is the province of
the Nation's elected leaders, and I would not presume to speak on their
behalf. I am empowered, however, to speak on behalf of this agency, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, and I am quite certain that the words that
follow reflect the hearts of its 10,000 employees.
Let us begin by expressing our profound sorrow for what this agency
has done in the past. Just like you, when we think of these misdeeds
and their tragic consequences, our hearts break and our grief is as
pure and complete as yours. We desperately wish that we could change
this history, but of course we cannot. On behalf of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, I extend this formal apology to Indian people for the
historical conduct of this agency.
And while the BIA employees of today did not commit these wrongs,
we acknowledge that the institution we serve did. We accept this
inheritance, this legacy of racism and inhumanity. And by accepting
this legacy, we accept also the moral responsibility of putting things
right.
We therefore begin this important work anew, and make a new
commitment to the people and communities that we serve, a commitment
born of the dedication we share with you to the cause of renewed hope
and prosperity for Indian country. Never again will this agency stand
silent when hate and violence are committed against Indians. Never
again will we allow policy to proceed from the assumption that Indians
possess less human genius than the other races. Never again will we be
complicit in the theft of Indian property. Never again will we appoint
false leaders who serve purposes other than those of the tribes. Never
again will we allow unflattering and stereotypical images of Indian
people to deface the halls of government or lead the American people to
shallow and ignorant beliefs about Indians. Never again will we attack
your religions, your languages, your rituals, or any of your tribal
ways. Never again will we seize your children, nor teach them to be
ashamed of who they are. Never again.
We cannot yet ask your forgiveness, not while the burdens of this
agency's history weigh so heavily on tribal communities. What we do ask
is that, together, we allow the healing to begin: As you return to your
homes, and as you talk with your people, please tell them that time of
dying is at its end. Tell your children that the time of shame and fear
is over. Tell your young men and women to replace their anger with hope
and love for their people. Together, we must wipe the tears of seven
generations. Together, we must allow our broken hearts to mend.
Together, we will face a challenging world with confidence and trust.
Together, let us resolve that when our future leaders gather to discuss
the history of this institution, it will be time to celebrate the
rebirth of joy, freedom, and.progress for the Indian Nations. The
Bureau of Indian Affairs was born in 1824 in a time of war on Indian
people. May it live in the year 2000 and beyond as an instrument of
their prosperity.
______
Prepared Statement of Tex Hall, President, National Congress of
American Indians
Dosha! Good morning Chairman McCain, Vice Chairman Dorgan, and
members of the committee. My name is Tex Hall, and I am president of
the National Congress of American Indians and chairman of the Mandan,
Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota.
NCAI is the oldest and largest American Indian organization in the
United States. I sit before you today representing over 250 tribal
governments and thousands of Indian people. NCAI was founded in 1944 in
response to termination and assimilation policies that the United
States forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their
treaty rights and status as sovereign governments. Today NCAI remains
dedicated to protecting the rights of tribal governments to achieve
self-determination and self-sufficiency.
On behalf of NCAI, thank you for giving me the opportunity to
testify in regard to S.J. Res. 15, which would acknowledge the many
misdeeds of the United States in its interaction with Native Americans
and recognize and honor the importance of Native Americans to this land
and to our nation--in the past and today. I also want to thank Senator
Sam Brownback for his leadership in introducing this resolution and
Senators Boxer, Dodd, Inouye, Dorgan, Cochran, and Akaka for
cosponsoring the Apology Resolution.
We all know the atrocities wrought against Native people in the
United States--the holocaust, the land theft, the forced removals, the
boarding school experience completely wiping out the language and
cultures of our Native brothers and sisters, the broken treaties, and
the attempts to undermine our status as sovereign nations. Passage of
the Apology Resolution would mark the Federal Governments first effort
to extend an official apology for the years of wrongdoing in
interactions with Indian tribes.
It is a long-time coming.
A similar Apology Resolution enumerating the various wrongdoings of
the United States Government in relation to the Native Hawaiians and
the Kingdom of Hawai'i was passed and signed into law by President
Clinton in 1993. The Canadian Government likewise apologized to its
First peoples in 1998.
The NCAI leadership worked with Congressional leadership in the
last Congress to analyze the impact of this landmark resolution, which
was first introduced during the 108th Congress by Senator Brownback,
for himself, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, and Senator Inouye. NCAI
solicited responses to the proposed language from tribal leaders and
facilitated discussion among tribal leadership and Congress on the
issue. Tribal leadership across Indian country continues to give a
variety of responses to the Apology Resolution, and I would like to
share some of those responses with you today.
First, it is important to recognize that the intensity of the
reaction of tribal leaders to the Apology Resolution demonstrates that
the destructive policies addressed in this resolution are not a fading
distant past for Indian peoples; they are present harms that continue
to be felt in very real ways every day. We continue to live with the
legacy of the Federal Government's misguided policies of the past, as
well as present day policies that undermine our ability to live as
robust, healthy, self-determining peoples. Tribal leaders have stressed
that the apology must recognize contemporary, and not just historical,
problems in Indian-government relations.
Many government policies continue to reflect a reluctance to truly
recognize tribes as sovereigns. For example, tribes, unlike other
governments, are limited in their ability to raise money by issuing tax
exempt bonds. Tribes are also left out of the funds that the Federal
Government has directed to every State in this Nation for emergency
response and homeland security. Tribal law enforcement agencies do not
have the jurisdiction and resources they need to protect public safety,
and recent Supreme Court decisions have blurred the lines of
jurisdiction at the borders between state and tribal lands.
Tribal leaders have commented that an apology may be the first step
in a reconciliation process between tribes and the U.S. Government, but
for this to be true, the apology must be more than just words on paper.
There is a lot of unfinished business that must be attended to before
true reconciliation can be achieved. As one tribal leader has said,
apologizing does not in any way wipe the slate clean or let anyone off
the hook.
I had the opportunity recently to testify before this committee on
the President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2006. As I said at the
time, Indian people are deeply disappointed that this budget does not
support strong tribal self-government and self-determination. The
President has proposed drastic budget cuts to many of the programs that
are vital to the health and well-being of our people. For example,
American Indians and Alaska Natives have a life expectancy 5 years less
than all other races in this country and suffer from high rates of
diabetes, heart disease, suicide, cancer, and alcoholism. Despite these
health disparities, the per capita expenditure for American Indian and
Alaska Native medical services is less than one-third of the average
annual expenditure for individual Medicaid assistance, and is even less
than the Nation's per capita health expenditure for Federal prisoners.
These programs are guaranteed to us by solemn treaties and tribes paid
for these services by ceding about 3 billion acres of land to the
Federal Government. A strong Federal commitment to make good on old
promises to provide resources for services, prevention programs, and
health care facilities is badly needed to turn around the troubling
health statistics in Indian country and is an important step toward
reconciliation.
To many, an apology rings hollow when the U.S. Government is
continuing to fail to fulfill its treaty promises. Only when coupled
with a continued commitment to the government to government
relationship and to Federal Indian programs like health, education, and
housing, can the Apology Resolution truly begin to make a meaningful
difference for Indian tribes. Otherwise, as one tribal leader put it,
the resolution will be like apologizing for stepping on someone's foot
while you continue to stand on it.
The message I would like to leave you with today is that passage of
the Apology Resolution may be an important and meaningful first step
toward reconciliation. Native Americans have come through
extraordinarily trying times over the past two centuries, and we have
emerged strong. Native Americans are the fastest growing segment of the
population by percentage--in the face of policies aimed at ensuring our
destruction, we have chosen survival. However, we have a long way to
go. An apology implies a recognition that an injustice occurred. And
the importance of this recognition cannot be underestimated. It also
implies, however, that there is a will to try to do something about the
harms that are caused by that injustice. True healing must begin with a
recognition of the harm, but it cannot stop there. An apology cannot
substitute for upholding the hundreds of treaties made with Indian
nations and fully living up to the Federal trust responsibility. Tribal
leaders have cautioned that the apology will be meaningless if it is
not accompanied by actions that begin to correct the wrongs of the past
and the present. Indian sovereignty is still under threat and Indian
people are still being left behind in this country. We look forward to
working with you as we move forward in taking the next steps toward
reconciliation and securing the future for Indian peoples.
______
Prepared Statement of Edward K. Thomas, President Central Council of
the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
Greetings from Alaska! My name is Edward K. Thomas. I am the
elected president of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska, a federally recognized Indian tribe of more
than 26,000 tribal citizens. Southeast Alaska is the ancestral homeland
of the Tlingit and Haida people. I have been the president of my tribe
since 1984. I have been managing Federal program contracts and grants
since 1975.
First, let me thank this very distinguished committee for holding
this hearing on an apology to Native Americans by the United States.
Second, thank you for the invitation to express my views on this
effort.
Webster's College Dictionary defines apology as: An expression of
regret for having committed an error or rudeness.
In order to appreciate this definition we need to look at what
regret means: To feel sorrow or remorse for an act.
In the instance of this apology it is clear that some in the U.S.
Government are sorry and remorseful for the errors and rudeness of past
years toward Native Americans while others are not.
I have concluded that the majority of Federal officials are not
really sorry or remorseful in the deeds of the United States toward
Native Americans. If there was indeed widespread sorrow and
remorsefulness in the Federal Government on the wrong-doing to Native
Americans then:
\\\\\\The Congress and the President would have stepped
forward and adopted apology legislation at the first suggestion
of an apology.
\\\\\\The constant erosion of tribal sovereign rights and
powers in favor of states' rights and powers would have been
stopped.
\\\\\\The ``Third-World'' conditions that exist in Indian
country would have been eradicated by now through meaningful
increases in appropriations in Indian programs.
\\\\\\The advice of tribal leaders would be taken seriously.
``Tribal Consultation'' is a meaningless process when words are
spoken but no positive action is taken.
There are a number of serious problems that continue in the
relationship between our people and the United States. An apology to us
while ignoring the Third-World conditions of so many of our people
somehow just doesn't seem genuine:
\\\\\\We have to sue the United States time and again over
indirect cost moneys that laws mandate that the Government give
to us automatically to run Federal programs.
\\\\\\United States courts rule in favor of states' rights
at the expense of Native American rights much of the time even
though the doctrine of tribal rights and powers have supposedly
been settled decades ago by earlier court rulings that were
favorable to tribes.
\\\\\\Study after study shows that Federal funding to our
people is less than the funding to the rest of the population
on a per capita basis, yet it makes no difference to those who
allocate funding for our needs.
\\\\\\Federal prisoners get more healthcare dollars per
capita than Native Americans.
\\\\\\There is absolutely no reason why the Federal tax laws
can't be amended to make it ultimately clear that all federally
recognized tribes have the same status as States.
\\\\\\I don't see appropriations bills introduced to provide
full funding to indirect costs notwithstanding findings in our
favor in the Cherokee Case.
\\\\\\Tribal leaders asked the President and the Congress
not to take valuable Federal program money appropriated to
address serious social and economic problems in Indian country
to fix the Trust Management problems it created for itself
through mismanagement, yet tribal programs have been taxed to
pay for Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA] Trust Management reform
and reorganization.
\\\\\\There are no promises that there will be total
appropriations for any settlement of the Cobell Case. If there
is a court settlement or a legislative settlement much of the
money to settle will most likely come out of existing Indian
programs just like what is happening in the funding of the
Office of the Special Trustee.
\\\\\\All of Indian country gets a bad grade from the
appropriators based entirely on the management weaknesses in
the Department of the Interior--BIA. Even now the Office of
Management and Budget [OMB] is scoring their Program Assessment
Rating Tool [PART], relying entirely on BIA Central Office
abilities to generate reports and statistics that accurately
reflect program value in Indian country. Absolutely no value is
given to how well or poorly tribal governments are doing
relative to the scoring criteria.
\\\\\\Needless to say I can go on and on but you get the
picture.
While I applaud your personal interest and commitment to making
things right on this topic I must say that I have difficulty with
spending so much time, precious government resources, and political
cards on such extensive talk on an apology. There are so many other
important issues in Indian country that do not get proper consideration
due to limited time.
There are so many other important challenges facing my people that
I truly wish there was more time to talk to you and the whole Congress
about these issues in a forum similar to this. As this nation faces
some very challenging times due to Federal budget deficits we don't
talk enough about the impact of this reality on this nation's first
peoples. I am not suggesting that benefits to Native Americans
increased in times of surplus because they don't what I am saying it
that history shows that problems in our poverty stricken Indian
communities increase during times of Federal budget deficits and
reduced domestic spending. It appears to me that the efforts of trying
to secure an apology from the United States is dreadfully distracting
from our important issues instead of drawing more focused attention to
the gravity of human problems in Indian country.
The best thing that could possibly come out of an apology is the
United States improving its treatment and strengthening its
relationship with Native Americans as a result of the apology. I fear,
however, that if an apology does come it will be perceived by many
Federal officials that this is a closure to the Federal
responsibilities to our people. I worry that uninformed, wellmeaning
law makers will respond to our future requests for help in addressing
the problems of our needy as though these requests are above and beyond
reasonability; saying, ``We already apologized for helping create those
deplorable situations, what more do they want?'' This happens even now.
Some feel that because there is a BIA that all of the needs of our
people are being addressed. Most are not aware that funding to the BIA
has lost ground to inflation for over 25 years while the cost of doing
business in Indian country has gone up at the same rate.
If this Nation apologizes to Native Americans for past decades and
centuries of wrongdoing to Native Americans will I accept it on behalf
of our people? Out of respect to you and others in Congress who are
sincere: Yes!
Do I feel good that things will be good after an apology and our
relations will improve? No. The only way this could happen is if there
was language in an apology legislation making it ultimately clear that
an action plan would be put in place immediately to effectively
eradicate the social and economic problems in Indian country and then
Federal programs would be put in place and appropriated based on real
need and not just comparing new efforts to the past performance of the
BIA.
Please read the attached article by D. Bambi Kraus on an apology by
former Assistant Secretary Gover.
I apologize if I have offended anybody in my comments. I do not
intend to paint a sensationalized negative picture of the Federal
relationship to Indian country but, rather, I am attempting to
reincorporate a degree of realism in our thinking when it comes to an
apology. I am very concerned that these efforts draw so much precious
time away from the real problems in Indian country and there is indeed
great need to spend more time talking about our important issues. I am
grateful for things that the United States has done for our people in
the past but, working together, more can and should be done to improve
conditions in Indian country.
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you today.
Gunalcheesh! Howa!
[The copyright 2000 article of D. Bambi Kraus cannot be reprinted
or electronically distributed without permission. For information
please call the Progressive Media Project for information, 608-257-
4626.]