The Long Trail to Apology to Native Americans

All manner of unusual things can happen in Washington in an election year, but few seem so refreshing as a proposed official apology from the federal government to  American Indians -- the first ever -- for the "violence, maltreatment and neglect" inflicted upon the tribes for centuries. A resolution of formal apology for "a long history of official depradations and ill-conceived policies" has been quietly cleared for a Senate vote, with proponents predicting passage. [more]

Detroit contractors must tell City whether they have benefited from Slavery

The Detroit City Council has passed a largely symbolic ordinance that would require contractors who want to do business with the city to disclose whether their companies profited from slavery. Chicago, Los Angeles and Wayne County have enacted similar laws. Detroit's ordinance says contractors must search their backgrounds, and then sign an affidavit divulging investments and income from the slave industry ...

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Bank One 'probably' Dealt with Slave Businesses

For the second time in a month, Bank One has filed an amended slavery disclosure affidavit with City Hall -- this time revealing fresh new details of its search for skeletons in the closets of its Louisiana predecessors. Determined to avoid a repeat of the slave disclosure controversy that has embroiled its merger partner, J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank One states in the new affidavit that Citizens Bank, formed in 1833, and Canal and Banking Co., formed in 1831, "did business in Louisiana during this era and probably did business with persons or entities that employed slaves." ...

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Bank One tells city its units may have had ties to slavery

Bank One has filed an affidavit with City Hall warning that it "owns subsidiaries that conduct business in states where slavery was practiced" and that predecessors of some of those companies may have had ties to slavery. Although Bank One checked the box that says it has "found records relating to investments or profits from slavery," the carefully worded disclosure statement filed by Bank One Capital Markets in connection with a water bond issue makes no such claim. ...

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Actions would speak louder than apology, Indian tribes say

After centuries of deal-breaking, land-taking and what many tribes consider genocide, some Washington politicians want the government to offer American Indians an apology. U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, has sponsored a resolution apologizing "to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States" as a way to smooth the often-rocky relations between the two. ...

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Native Americans to demand compensation

The policy was to "kill the Indian and keep the man." The aim of a boarding school system established by U.S.officials in the 19th century was to assimilate Native American children into the dominant White society, speakers told a panel discussion at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on May 12. ...

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Fort Worth City Council asks Congress to study Reparations

A divided City Council called on Congress on Tuesday to study the effects of slavery and discrimination, and whether governmental reparations are needed. Proponents who have been trying to build a national movement for reparations said the move will pressure other cities to adopt similar resolutions. Opponents said it amounted to dwelling on the past. ...

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Daley Faces Tough Questions about JP Morgan's Role in Slave Trade

Bill Daley's appointment as chairman of the Midwest for J.P. Morgan Chase places him at the center of a political firestorm over slave reparations. Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd Ward), City Council champion of the reparations movement, has accused J.P. Morgan Chase of profiting from the slave trade, and lying about it on a sworn affidavit. ...

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Wayne County slavery ordinance goes into effect today

Wayne County executive Robert Ficano said today he supports the decision by the Wayne County Commission to require companies wishing to do business with the county to research and disclose whether they or any predecessor businesses had profited from the institution of slavery. The ordinance, which was passed May 7, goes into effect today. ...

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Wayne County takes up slave reparations

Wayne County has thrust itself into the center of the emotiona lnationwide debate about slave reparations. Following the lead of Chicago, the Wayne County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to require companies founded before 1866 to submit forms showing whether they profited from slavery before bidding on county contracts of$20,000 or more. ...

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