"This isn't the first time the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee has passed a resolution apologizing to Native Americans for past injustices by the United States government.

Last year, a similar resolution made it into an amendment to the Indian health bill and was passed by the full Senate.

However, the U.S. House eliminated the measure.

This time, a resolution that the Senate panel passed on Thursday stands alone.

Because of that, all senators and representatives should vote to acknowledge wrongs that range from broken treaties to massacres, including the one at Wounded Knee in South Dakota.

There are some who offer objections to the resolution. The most valid of those probably is from Native Americans who argue that words alone are insufficient to cover the injustices of the past.

Indeed, if the apology is a cover for lawmakers to say they support Native American issues without actually working to find solutions for Indian Country, then it is a hollow gesture indeed."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Apology to Indians a chance for more healing (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 8/7)

Apology Resolution:
H.J.Res.46 | S.J.Res.14

Related Stories:
Senate panel backs Native apology resolution (8/7)
Opinion: Don't wait on an apology to Indian people (7/6)
Senate resolution apologizes for slavery (6/19)
Apology resolution leaves out trust mismanagement (5/11)
Apology resolution introduced in House and Senate (5/4)