Apology from BIA Chief

[HJVsqzIMIS at aol.com]

Queridos Amigos,

    In case you missed it, I'm sending you the text of Mr. Gover's speech
from Friday. I think it is of interest to all connected with the study of
Native American Languages.

                                                Many blessings,
                                                Henry Vasquez
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
September 8, 2000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

In March of 1824, President James Monroe established the Office of Indian
Affairs in the Department of War. Its mission was to conduct the nation's
business with regard to Indian affairs. We have come together today to mark
the first 175 years of the institution now known as the Bureau of Indian
Affairs. 
It is appropriate that we do so in the first year of a new century and a new
millennium, a time when our leaders are reflecting on what lies ahead and
preparing for those challenges.  Before looking ahead, though, this
institution must first look back and reflect on what it has wrought and, by
doing so, come to know that this is no occasion for celebration; rather it is
time for reflection and contemplation, a time for sorrowful truths to be
spoken, a time for contrition. 
We must first reconcile ourselves to the fact that the works of this agency
have at various times profoundly harmed the communities it was meant to
serve. From the very beginning, the Office of Indian Affairs was an
instrument by which the United States enforced its ambition against the
Indian nations and Indian people who stood in its path. And so, the first
mission of this institution was to execute the removal of the southeastern
tribal nations. By threat, deceit, and force, these great tribal nations were
made to march 1,000 miles to the west, leaving thousands of their old, their
young and their infirm in hasty graves along the Trail of Tears.
As the nation looked to the West for more land, this agency participated in
the ethnic cleansing that befell the western tribes. War necessarily begets
tragedy; the war for the West was no exception. 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. This agency
and the good people in it failed in the mission to prevent the devastation.
And so great nations of patriot warriors fell. We will never push aside the
memory of unnecessary and violent death at places such as Sand Creek, the
banks of the Washita River, and Wounded Knee.  
Nor did the consequences of war have to include the futile and destructive
efforts to annihilate Indian cultures. After the devastation of tribal
economies and the deliberate creation of tribal dependence on the services
provided by this agency, this agency set out to destroy all things Indian. 
This agency forbade the speaking of Indian languages, prohibited the conduct
of traditional religious activities, outlawed traditional government, and
made Indian people ashamed of who they were. Worst of all, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs committed these acts against the children entrusted to its
boarding schools, brutalizing them emotionally, psychologically, physically,
and spiritually. Even in this era of self -determination, when the Bureau of
Indian Affairs is at long last serving as an advocate for Indian people in an
atmosphere of mutual respect, the legacy of these misdeeds haunts us. The
trauma of shame, fear and anger has passed from one generation to the next,
and manifests itself in the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic
violence that plague Indian country .Many of our people live lives of
unrelenting tragedy as Indian families suffer the ruin of lives by
alcoholism, suicides made of shame and despair, and violent death at the
hands of one another. So many of the maladies suffered today in Indian
country result from the failures of this agency. Poverty, ignorance, and
disease have been the product of this agency's work.
And so today I stand before you as the leader of an institution that in the
past has committed acts so terrible that they infect, diminish, and destroy
the lives of Indian people decades later, generations later. These things
occurred despite the efforts of many good people with good hearts who sought
to prevent them. These wrongs must be acknowledged if the healing is to begin.
I do not speak today for the United States. That is the province of the
nation's elected leaders, and I would not presume to speak on their behalf. I
am empowered, however, to speak on behalf of this agency, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, and I am quite certain that the words that follow reflect the
hearts of its 10,000 employees. 
Let us begin by expressing our profound sorrow for what this agency has done
in the past. Just like you, when we think of these misdeeds and their tragic
consequences, our hearts break and our grief is as pure and complete as
yours. We desperately wish that we could change this history, but of course
we cannot. On behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I extend this formal
apology to Indian people for the historical conduct of this agency.
And while the BIA employees of today did not commit these wrongs, we
acknowledge that the institution we serve did. We accept this inheritance,
this legacy of racism and inhumanity. And by accepting this legacy, we accept
also the moral responsibility of putting things right. 
We therefore begin this important work anew, and make a new commitment to the
people and communities that we serve, a commitment born of the dedication we
share with you to the cause of renewed hope and prosperity for Indian
country. Never again will this agency stand silent when hate and violence are
committed against Indians. Never again will we allow policy to proceed from
the assumption that Indians possess less human genius than the other races.
Never again will we be complicit in the theft of Indian property. Never again
will we appoint false leaders who serve purposes other than those of the
tribes. Never again will we allow unflattering and stereotypical images of
Indian people to deface the halls of government or lead the American people
to shallow and ignorant beliefs about Indians. Never again will we attack
your religions, your languages, your rituals, or any of your tribal ways.
Never again will we seize your children, nor teach them to be ashamed of who
they are. Never again.
We cannot yet ask your forgiveness, not while the burdens of this agency's
history weigh so heavily on tribal communities. What we do ask is that,
together, we allow the healing to begin: As you return to your homes, and as
you talk with your people, please tell them that time of dying is at its end.
Tell your children that the time of shame and fear is over. Tell your young
men and women to replace their anger with hope and love for their people.
Together, we must wipe the tears of seven generations. Together, we must
allow our broken hearts to mend. Together, we will face a challenging world
with confidence and trust. Together, let us resolve that when our future
leaders gather to discuss the history of this institution, it will be time to
celebrate the rebirth of joy, freedom, and progress for the Indian Nations.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was born in 1824 in a time of war on Indian
people. May it live in the year 2000 and beyond as an instrument of their
prosperity.
--END--