BIA issues apology

SEPTEMBER 11, 2000

September 8 was not just a momentous occasion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but for many in Indian Country, as Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover offered apologies for years of abuse inflicted upon tribes and Indian people by the agency.

"As the nation looked to the West for more land, this agency participated in the ethnic cleansing that befell the western tribes," Gover told about 300 who attended the anniversary celebration of the BIA in Washington, DC, last Friday.

"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," he continued.

Gover's speech marked the first time in history that the Bureau has apologized for its treatment and handling of affairs in Indian Country. Almost every policy in the history of the government, from the taking of land to removal to Indian reorganization, was covered by Gover -- however, Gover was only apologizing on behalf of the Bureau.

For many in the audience, the apology was a long time coming. The celebration was obviously an emotional event for those who attended.

For others, Gover's words came a little too late. Like the BIA celebration, which itself was a year late, the policies of forbidding cultural practices, forced education far away from home in boarding schools, and intrusion into internal affairs have already had devastating effects on tribal nations everywhere.

But Gover promised that a greater future lies ahead for the Bureau and for tribes.

"The Bureau of Indian Affairs was born in 1824 in a time of war on Indian people," said Gover. "May it live in the year 2000 and beyond as an instrument of their prosperity."

Gover will step down as Assistant Secretary with the inauguration of a new administration next year.

Get Gover's Speech:
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 (Kevin Gover 9/8)

Relevant Links:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs - www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

Related Stories:
BIA to celebrate birthday (Tribal Law 9/8)