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Kevin Gover apologizes for BIA legacy
The Bureau of Indian Affairs' 175th anniversary celebration
earlier this month turned into a recap of the history of
the agency's bad policies, as Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover
apologized for helping to eradicate tribes instead of
helping them.
No, Gover didn't actually do any of the extermination himself,
but instead apologized for the Bureau's role in Western
expansion. And with over a hundred years of history to account
for, Gover had a lot to say.
Not everyone bought it of course. But plenty of people did.
So does this mean the Indian Wars are over? With a great amount of controversy,
conflict, and crisis involving Indian affairs still existing
today, perhaps in another 100 years, Indian Country will
get an apology from the President on behalf of the government, who just might be Indian him or
herself.
It could happen.
Get the Story:
BIA
issues apology (9/11)
Leaders
weigh in on apology (9/11)
Rampant racism decried at USDA
At the conclusion of the Civil War, the US government
promised forty acres and a
mule to former African slaves and their
families.
But as with most government promises, it was never
completely fulfilled. Some 100+ years later,
African-American farmers settled a discrimination
lawsuit with the US Department of Agriculture,
for years of discrimination linked back to that
failed promise.
Now, Indian farmers are poised to carry out their
own lawsuit against the agency. In testimony before
Congress this week, their
lawyer said the case will be even larger than
the Black farmers one.
So how much larger? Tribes were promised a lot more
than 40 years and much more than mules. With a
figure of $19 billion being tossed around,
upwards of 40,000 to 50,000 Indian farmers affected
by discrimination within
the USDA might hope to recover just a tiny bit of
the losses endured by Indian Country over
the past century.
Get the Story:
USDA
a 'very racist organization' (9/13)
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