Skip to main content

United States Apologizes to Native Americans

So, I'm going scouring CNN this morning and I come across a video entitled, "Senate Apologizes to Native Americans". I was taken aback, if only for comical reasons. I'm sorry, but if it takes this long to apologize for genocide, it can't really be taken seriously. And that's not to say that an apology shouldn't be made- I just think that those making this. . . admission of guilt need understand that it's an apology merely out of principle.

Mass grave in Wound Knee, South Dakota

The bill in play here is S.J.RES.4, which was introduced by Arkansas Senator Sam Brownback(R). The page for the bill describes it as "a joint resolution to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States." All this comes only about two weeks after Austrailia apologized to it's own aboriginal population. And another interesting side note in the video is that the U.S. government has already apologized to Japanese-Americans and Hawaiians.

I'm not going to upset myself this morning trying to understand why there still is not formal apology to African-Americans over that little slavery incident some years ago(note sarcasm). I'm just going to try and think positive thoughts.

(You do not have to be a member of Blogger to comment. Choose 'other' or 'anonymous' when your identification is asked for.)

Comments

  1. How do people who were not directly involved in a situation, apologize to people who were also not involved with a situation?

    None the less the history books say slavery was abolished BEFORE the American Indians were done getting slaughtered...

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is not about "people" as much as it is about "organizations". An organization(in this case, the U.S.) was built off the backs of enslaved Africans(as well as Native American genocides). The organization is apologizing for something it has done wrong. I'm not asking for anyone today to apologize for something THEY did- but if they are apart of an organization that has thrived off an injustice, it should be duly noted.

    And what is the relevance of your second point?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I feel as though for them to apologize for everyone else is just rude and inconsiderate considering that African Americans has played a giant role in the form of equality in the U.S

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry, but that picture gives me the creeps...

    ReplyDelete
  5. And I hope every last one of those rednecks were soaked in gasoline and thrown in hell...sorry again, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I recently saw this same story as well the other day. I did not hear about Austrailia apologizing to the Aboriginal population. Although I do not want to take away for the small bit of merit behind this apology (the fact that they would even think to this is a positive step), I also feel that the apology is extremely hollow. Yes, the US government as an organization is receiving atonement (in their eyes) for all their previous wrongdoings, but does it really change anything? So far the government has apologized to Japanese-Americans ofr WWII camps (the apology included a payment to survivors), native Hawaiians for overthrowing their government and claiming their land for America, and they apologized for the lack of anti-lynching legislation.

    To answer your question about why an official apology hasn't been issued to the African American population, there is one in progress. The same senators who initated this apology to Native Americans are behind the legislation to apology to African Americans. This idea has only become a reality because five states have managed to do it before the federal government (VA, MD, AL, NC, and NJ). The hesitancy is whether or not such an apology will open the door for a heated reparations debate. But I think that the government is just going to have to suffer with results. An apology, although hollow, is better than no admittance of wrong doing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I mean the fact that they took the step to admit that the All Mightly, Great, and always Right United States of America was wrong about anything is a good thing and everything. My only issue with this is at the end of the day what does it matter that they choose to apologize to the native americans or even to the african americans. I would almost take it as an insultif the United States would come out and apologize for slavery..saying something that the rest of the world already knew would be pointless to me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think that America believes that they have apologized to us, in their weird way... Through the Constitution; unlike the Japanese and Native Americans, we have Amendments that were "specifically" written for all men suffrage, ending slavery... blah blah blah... and as long as those are in place, we will NEVER get an apology..

    ReplyDelete
  9. If they really mean to apologize, how about backing it up with removing Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill? He was responsible for the Indian Removal Act, which forced thousands of Native Americans to walk hundreds of miles on the Trail of Tears. Saying sorry doesn't mean anything if they continue to print this man, who is offensive to many American Indians, on the $20 bill.

    ReplyDelete
  10. blacksalvage.blogspot.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading blacksalvage.blogspot.com every day.
    payday advance loan
    online payday loan

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for posting this article. I will have to take a look into this apology to   native Americans.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

4 Reasons Why BET Is An Embarrassment To Black People

1. BET(Black Entertainment Television) did not air Coretta Scott King’s funeral on it’s station. BET claimed it wanted to offer viewers a different kind of experience by posting a live webcast on it’s website of the funeral where viewers could access it "at work, at home, traveling,[and] at school". Likewise, the four major networks; NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX all broadcast their own live webcasts on their respective websites. But these stations as well broadcast the funeral on television. C-SPAN and CNN also aired the funeral live. This reason alone proves that BET is the epitome of trash on television. And not to equate the struggle of blacks with Coretta Scott King, but there would be no BET without her. BET felt that viewers would prefer to watch women shaking their rumps in music videos rather than some funeral for a beloved civil rights leader. 2. BET is not black entertainment television. It does not represent the views and ideals of the millions of Blacks in the United S

Who Really Gave Birth to Humanity?

The Black Salvage would like to introduce to you the inagural article from the newest addition to our team, Cynical Jubilee. Below is a brief introduction: "I'm a Religious Studies Philosophy major at MSU. I enjoy studying Religion for the sole purpose of tracing a HISTORICAL outline of religious origins and moral codes instead of bashing other's beliefs with the Tomfoolery they tried to brainwash me with in Sunday School. I'm here to present you all with historical FACTS, but I respect everyone's beliefs and opinions. " Since it’s the New Year and I’m new to the team, I find it very fitting to share some insight on the story of Genesis and propose a question that many choose to look over- Adam and Eve were the first two humans and they had two sons- Cain and Abel. One son kills the other, so: WHO GAVE BIRTH TO HUMANITY????? Where did where did Cain find a wife to reproduce with if there were no other humans on earth? Well, there are two books that come to min

Black Salvage Blog of the Month: "Fed Up"

I would like to present to Black Salvage readers the first regular segment to appear on the site, "Blog of the Month". The intent of these monthly pieces is quite simple really; to provide awareness of many of the great blogs and sites out there relevant to our focus. [Below is a sample of the type of pictures that appear on this month's "Blog of the Month]. The first "Black Salvage Blog of The Month" recipient is author of the thoughtfully racist web log "Fed Up", which is home to dozens of anti-black writings(here is a link, http://intolerant.wordpress.com). The author, who goes by the pen name "Intolerant" has been writing about his love of hating people of the African diaspora since November of 2005. Stories on the blog range from jokes to serious pieces on the all the supposed ills of black people in the author's opinion. Before the comments questioning my reasoning for entertaining such a blog come in, let me first ask you