
An Apology
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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 |

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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.

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