US President Joe Biden traveled to Arizona on Friday where he spoke with members of the Gila River Indian Community, offering a historical apology to Native peoples who suffered a century-and-a-half of unjust federal policies.
US President Joe Biden traveled to Arizona on Friday where he spoke with members of the Gila River Indian Community, offering a historical apology to Native peoples who suffered a century-and-a-half of unjust federal policies.
that’s great to hear.
finally, an official admission of federal culpability.
Yes, it’s late, and yes it doesn’t change the past, but he’s acknowledging the past more than any other president has.
Literally. Literally more than ANY president ever has.
Next up is the return of federal land to tribes. Hopefully it doesn’t take over a century this time.
Return of federal lands has been going on for a while, do you mean one thing in particular or a huge ramping up in returning ancestral lands?
I think federal parks should be returned, as well as a massive ramp up in return. I also think the federal government should provide land tax reparations to remove the tribes out of poverty. I know that’s more than what I implied, but this is really the only way the federal government can do tribes justice for their treatment.
which federal parks?
do you mean all national parks?
i completely agree about land tax reparations, and also think some kind of healthcare recompense needs to be made for all of the toxic chemicals dumped into tribal lands up until today, directly causing way higher rates of cancer and other diseases then the rest of the country.
We did this in Australia a few years ago. It really is just a political stunt. The apology did nothing for me and my family and no one talks about it now.
sorry to hear that, that sucks.
in the states they have been returning land for decades, but are very careful about federal admissions of responsibility and have never admitted direct culpability for the mistreatment of native Americans at this level, so this is kind of a big deal here and could easily presage further policy.
I don’t see it as a stunt, especially considering how many other progressive policies Biden has already materially and legally advanced.
since he’s provided legal funding for minorities to protect their rights, invested a couple trillion dollars in green technology and infrastructure and climate change, plus actually taxed billionaires, he’s likely serious about this apology, though that’s not as important as the legal and political ramifications that this enables for tribes.
I hope it does help
https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-boarding-schools-biden-apology-reaction-666f5d55496a36bd0dc40a357714273e
looks like the department of the interior is already working with tribes to return the bodies of abused native school children to their tribes, and Biden has pledged school support services and cultural revitalization projects.
they have an apology, The government is starting to do work for the tribes, now the tribes need reparations and legal infrastructure to protect their cultures.
I’m pretty excited to see where this goes, I hope that the department of the interior working with the tribes will influence and encourage other government departments to work with tribes concerning other issues they’ve been campaigning about for decades, even up to a century and a half.
it’s such a relief to see the first step, finally.