Opinion

Opinion: Apology not enough for Native people

Friday, April 11, 2008

"Now the US government is trying to redeem itself of one more action listed; the slaughter of millions of Native American. Not all Native Americans, just one tribe in particular. The apology was sponsored by former republican candidate Senator Sam Brownback. He says that the apology is a "giant step forward." Brownback says that to move forward we have to "acknowledge and take ownership" of the events of the pass.

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He brought with him population diminishing epidemics of smallpox, typhus, influenza, diphtheria, and measles that wiped out 95% of the Native population. Columbus also brought with him men ready to conquer. The earliest conquests occurred in 1494 by the Spanish and the Portuguese.

By the Treaty of Tordesillas, ratified by the Pope, the two nations divided the entire non-European world between themselves, but eventually many more nations would have their hand in the conquest and bloodshed.

Most of the population lives on reservations that this country has "given" them. How can something be given that already belongs to the receiver? It's like giving freedom to an African American after the Civil War. Liberty and freedom were already his to begin with. "

Get the Story:
Matthew Caston: The Revolutionary Review: Sorry for Everything (The Alcorn State University Campus Chronicle 4/14)

Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments:
S.1200 | H.R.1328

Apology Resolution:
S.J.Res.4 | H.J.Res.3