[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 118 (Monday, July 23, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9777-S9778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Akaka, and Mr. 
        Stevens):
  S. 1852. A bill to designate the Friday after Thanksgiving of each 
year as ``Native American Heritage Day'' in honor of the achievements 
and contributions of Native Americans to the United States; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
would designate the Friday following Thanksgiving of each year as 
Native American Heritage Day.
  I believe that it is well known to most Members of this body that the 
original inhabitants of the lands that now constitute the U.S.--the 
aboriginal, indigenous, native people of America--occupied and 
exercised sovereignty over more than 550 million acres of land prior to 
the first European contact.
  In the early days of our history, well before our Nation was formed, 
the native people fought alongside our soldiers in the Revolutionary 
War. The Indian tribes enabled the survival of General George 
Washington and his troops during the harsh winter at Valley Forge by 
providing food to the troops.
  A few years later, as our Founding Fathers were engaged in the 
challenge of forming a new Nation, they drew upon the democratic model 
of government that they learned from the Six Nations of the Iroquois 
Confederacy. There they found the well-institutionalized practice of 
the fundamental principles of freedom of speech and a system of 
governmental checks and balances provided through the separation of 
governmental powers.
  In our early days as a Nation, we entered into treaties with Native 
Americans pursuant to the provisions of the U.S. Constitution that 
recognize them as sovereigns. But later, we abandoned the path of an 
honorable course of dealings, and turned to war. Thousands lost their 
lives through these battles and horrific massacres. The native 
population everywhere was decimated.
  Forced marches to relocate the native people from their traditional 
homelands to areas west of the Mississippi in the dead of winter cost 
thousands of more lives. Few Americans know that there was not one 
Trail of Tears, but many.
  The Treaties could have signaled a return to a course of honorable 
dealings with the native people had the U.S. not proceeded to break 
provisions in every single one of the treaties that were ratified by 
the U.S. Senate.
  Amazingly, notwithstanding these appalling deeds, the native people 
of the U.S. have always been and continue to be staunchly patriotic and 
loyal to this country. They have volunteered to serve in the defense of 
our nation in every military action and war in which we have been 
engaged, and on a per capita basis, more Native Americans have put 
themselves in harm's way and given their lives to protect the U.S. than 
any other group of Americans. They have made the greatest sacrifice, 
but their contributions do not end there.

[[Page S9778]]

  We have only to look to the history that is sadly not found in the 
public school textbooks of America's schools, but has been recorded by 
historians and anthropologists and through direct, eye-witness 
accounts, we know that the native people of the U.S. have made 
significant contributions to our society in every walk of life, in 
every profession, in medicine and agriculture and as stewards of the 
lands and resources we all hold dear.
  There have been great men and women who have led their native nations 
out of war, poverty, and despair. Throughout the generations, they have 
shown us the true meaning of courage in the face of the greatest odds, 
and the quiet strength to persevere.
  A recent nationwide poll of Americans conducted in March of this year 
reveals that 85 percent of those polled strongly support the setting 
aside of a day each year to honor the contributions that native people 
of this land have made to the fabric of American society. Such a day 
would provide an opportunity for all Americans to learn more about the 
rich cultural legacy that this Nation's native people have given to us.
  I believe the time has come to honor the first Americans of the 
country in this manner, and I urge my colleagues to join me in this 
endeavor.
                                 ______