Republican Lawmaker Reintroduces Native American Apology Bill
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 09:29PM
TheSpook
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) announced 4/20 that he has "reintroduced" a
resolution that, if adopted, would "serve as an apology" to American
Indians "for 200 years of wrongdoing." Brownback called the resolution
"a step toward healing the wounds that have divided us for so long."
KU's Center for Indigenous Nations Studies' Michael Yellow Bird
observed, however, that "the language" in the resolution is "very
guarded. It's a very controlled apology." Yellow Bird said that while
Brownback "means well ... this is like stealing someone's care, their
house, their home, and then saying 'I'm sorry, but you're not going to
get any of it back.'" In a 4/20 statement, Brownback emphasized that
the resolution "does not dismiss the (valor) of our American soldiers
who bravely fought 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" (Ranney,
Lawrence Journal-World, 4/21). The Hotline April 21, 2005
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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