Republican Lawmaker Reintroduces Native American Apology Bill

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) announced 4/20 that he has "reintroduced" a resolution that, if adopted, would "serve as an apology" to American Indians "for 200 years of wrongdoing." Brownback called the resolution "a step toward healing the wounds that have divided us for so long." KU's Center for Indigenous Nations Studies' Michael Yellow Bird observed, however, that "the language" in the resolution is "very guarded. It's a very controlled apology." Yellow Bird said that while Brownback "means well ... this is like stealing someone's care, their house, their home, and then saying 'I'm sorry, but you're not going to get any of it back.'" In a 4/20 statement, Brownback emphasized that the resolution "does not dismiss the (valor) of our American soldiers who bravely fought for their families in wars between the United States and a number of the Indian tribes. Nor does this resolution cast all the blame for the various battles on one side or another" (Ranney, Lawrence Journal-World, 4/21). The Hotline April 21, 2005