President Barack Obama has yet to acknowledge the federal government's official apology to Native peoples, which was signed into law late last year with little fanfare or public notice.

Obama signed the apology as part of a much larger defense appropriations bill. But there are no plans "at this time" on what will happen next, a White House spokesperson told Indian Country Today.

Robert T. Coulter, the executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center, had questioned the meaningfulness of the proposed apology. He said the White House's silence spoke volumes.

“What kind of an apology is it when they don’t tell the people they are apologizing to? For an apology to have any meaning at all, you do have to tell the people you’re apologizing to," Coulter told ICT.

Get the Story:
A sorry saga (Indian Country Today 1/13)

2010 Defense Appropriations Act:
Bill Text | H.R.3326

Apology Resolution:
H.J.Res.46 | S.J.Res.14

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Laverne Beech: Apology to Native people long overdue (1/12)
Opinion: Obama should issue apology to Natives (11/25)
Robert Coulter: 'No thanks' to U.S. apology (10/12)
Marty Two Bulls Cartoon: Hey, we're sorry! (10/9)
Apology included in Defense spending bill (10/8)
Kevin Abourezk: Apology does little good (10/8)
Senate passes Native apology resolution (10/7)
Editorial: Native apology a chance for healing (08/07)
Senate panel backs Native apology resolution (8/7)
Opinion: Don't wait on an apology to Indian people (7/6)
Senate resolution apologizes for slavery (6/19)
Apology resolution leaves out trust mismanagement (5/11)
Apology resolution introduced in House and Senate (5/4)