Buck Never Again

8/9/2019 Buck Never Again

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REMARKS OF KEVIN GOVERASSISTANT SECRETARY-INDIAN AFFAIRS:

ADDRESS TO TRIBAL LEADERS

In March of 1824, President James Monroeestablished The Office of Indian Affairs in theDepartment of War.

Its mission was to conduct the nations businesswith regard to Indian affairs.

We have come together today to mark the first175 years of the institution now known as theBureau of Indian Affairs.

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A Time for Contrition

It is appropriate that we do so in the first year of anew century and a new millennium, a time when ourleaders are reflecting on what lies ahead andpreparing for those challenges.

Before looking ahead, though, this institution must

first look back and reflect on what it has wroughtand, by doing so, come to know that this is nooccasion for celebration; rather it is time forreflection and contemplation, a time for sorrowfultruths to be spoken, a time for contrition.

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As the nation looked to the West for more land, thisagency participated in the ethnic cleansing that befellthe western tribes.

War necessarily begets tragedy; the war for the Westwas no exception.

Yet in these more enlightened times, it must beacknowledged 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 thecowardly killing of women and children made fortragedy on a scale so ghastly that it cannot bedismissed as merely the inevitable consequence of theclash of competing ways of life.

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Great Nations Fell

This agency and the good people in it failed in themission to prevent the devastation.

And so, great nations of patriot warriors fell.

We will never push aside the memory ofunnecessary and violent death at places such asSand Creek, the banks of the Washita River, andWounded Knee.

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Nor did the consequences of war have to

include the futile and destructive efforts toannihilate Indian cultures.

After the devastation of tribal economies andthe deliberate creation of tribal dependence on

the services provided by this agency, thisagency set out to destroy all things Indian.

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Brutalizing the Children

This agency forbadethe speaking of Indianlanguages, prohibitedthe conduct oftraditional religiousactivities, outlawedtraditional government,and made Indianpeople ashamed ofwho they were.

Worst of all, theBureau of IndianAffairs committedthese acts against thechildren entrusted toits boarding schools,brutalizing thememotionally,psychologically,physically, andspiritually.

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Many of our people live lives of unrelentingtragedy as Indian families suffer the ruin of

lives by alcoholism, suicides made of shameand despair, and violent death at the hands ofone another.

So many of the maladies suffered today inIndian country result from the failures of this

agency.

Poverty, ignorance, and disease have been theproduct of this agencys work.

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And so today I stand before you as the leaderof an institution that in the past has committed

acts so terrible that they infect, diminish, anddestroy the lives of Indian people decadeslater, generations later.

These things occurred despite the efforts ofmany good people with good hearts who

sought to prevent them.

These wrongs must be acknowledged if thehealing is to begin.

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I DO NOT SPEAK TODAY FOR THE

UNITED STATES

I do not speak today for the United States. That is the

province of the nations elected leaders, and I would notpresume 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 10,000employees.

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Let us begin by expressing our profound sorrowfor what this agency has done in the past.

Just like you, when we think of these misdeedsand their tragic consequences, our hearts breakand our grief is as pure and complete as yours.

We desperately wish that we could change thishistory, but of course we cannot.

On behalf of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Iextend this formal apology to Indian people forthe historical conduct of this agency.

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The moral responsibility ofputting things right.

And while the BIA employees of today did not committhese wrongs, we acknowledge that the institution weserve did.

We accept this inheritance, this legacy of racism andinhumanity.

And by accepting this legacy, we accept also the moralresponsibility of putting things right.

We therefore begin this important work anew, and make

a new commitment to the people and communities thatwe serve, a commitment born of the dedication weshare with you to the cause of renewed hope andprosperity for Indian country.

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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.

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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.

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We cannot yet ask your forgiveness, not whilethe burdens of this agencys history weigh soheavily on tribal communities.

What we do ask is that, together, we allow thehealing to begin: As you return to your homes,and as you talk with your people, please tellthem that the time of dying is at its end.

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Tell your children that the time of shame andfear is over.

Tell your young men and women to replacetheir anger with hope and love for their people.

Together, we must wipe the tears of sevengenerations.

Together, we must allow our broken hearts tomend.

Together, we will face a challenging world withconfidence and trust.

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Ask your Senator to co-sponsor!

Casey, Robert P., Jr. (D - PA)

383 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

(202) 224-6324Web:

Specter, Arlen (R - PA)

711 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510(202) 224-4254

Web:

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http://specter.senate.gov/public/http://casey.senate.gov/http://specter.senate.gov/public/http://casey.senate.gov/http://casey.senate.gov/http://specter.senate.gov/public/


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Congressman Mike Doyle

401 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone: 202-225-2135 | Fax: 202-225-3084

225 Ross Street, Fifth Floor

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Phone: 412-261-5091 | Fax: 412-261-1983

E-mail:

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Christopher BuckNever Again: KevinGovers Apology for theBureau of Indian Affairs.Wicazo Sa Review: A

Journal of Native AmericanStudies 21.1 (2006): 97126.

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Buck Never Again

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