[Firstnations] The American Holocaust an apology

[Cordell H. Thomas]

When I mentioned this speech in Baltimore some of those present had not
heard of it.  It did not receive much press in spite of it being a very
tepid apology.  So I send it along for your review and comment.  You are
of course free to distribute it.  The source is the site below.
Http://www.doi.gov/bia/as-ia/175gover.htm

Del
=====================================

                                           Remarks of
                          Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs
                                    Department of the Interior
                                              at the
                         Ceremony Acknowledging the 175th Anniversary
                                     of the Establishment of the
                                     Bureau of Indian Affairs
                                        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. 

                                              --END--